Charting a Maritime Security Cooperation Mechanism in the Indian Ocean: Sharing Responsibilities among Littoral States and User States The main objective of this article is to highlight the challenge of maritime security in the region geographically bounded by the Indian Ocean. It studies the current status of maritime security in the region from both the traditional and non-traditional points of view. From the traditional security perspective, it examines the strategic interests of the major Indian Ocean players—the China–India competition and India–US relations in particular—in addition to the existing maritime disputes among the littoral states. Nong Hong | May 2012 | Strategic Analysis
A Neo-Nixon Doctrine for the Indian Ocean: Helping States Help Themselves In recent years the Indian Ocean has received significant attention from the defence-intellectual community in the United States. However, the actual strategic importance of the region to US interests is less clear. In an environment of fiscal austerity, if commitments abroad are not firmly linked to interests, any significant involvement in a region of secondary concern could contribute to ‘imperial overstretch’. Walter C. Ladwig III | May 2012 | Strategic Analysis
India’s Critical Role in the Resilience of the Global Undersea Communications Cable Infrastructure Introduction Sarabjeet Singh Parmar , Ronald J. Rapp , Franz-Stefan Gady , Karl Frederick Rauscher | May 2012 | Strategic Analysis
A European Perspective on Maritime Security Challenges in the Indian Ocean Region The Indian Ocean Region (IOR), ranging from the Suez Canal in the west to the Strait of Malacca in the east, is of crucial importance for Europe. However, Europe's interest in the region's maritime space and its security challenges is limited. Radu N. Botez | May 2012 | Strategic Analysis
China Shakes Up the Maritime Balance in the Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean has long been a hub of great power rivalry and the struggle for its domination has been a perennial feature of global politics. It is the third largest of the world's five oceans and touches Asia in the north, Africa in the west, Indo-China in the east, and Antarctica in the south. Home to four critical access waterways—the Suez Canal, Bab-el Mandeb, the Strait of Hormuz and the Strait of Malacca—the Indian Ocean connects the Middle East, Africa and East Asia with Europe and the Americas. Harsh V. Pant | May 2012 | Strategic Analysis
Inside, Outside: India’s ‘Exterior Lines’ in the South China Sea New Delhi has long countenanced the idea of extra-regional operations. The Maritime Military Strategy published in 2007, for instance, lists the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean among ‘secondary areas’ of endeavour for the Indian sea services. ‘Areas of secondary interest will come in where there is a direct connection with areas of primary interest, or where they impinge on the deployment of future maritime forces.’ 1 The South China Sea abuts the Indian Ocean, the most compelling zone of primary interest for New Delhi, through the Malacca Strait. James R. Holmes | May 2012 | Strategic Analysis
Indian Ocean Naval Symposium: Uniting the Maritime Indian Ocean Region The Indian Ocean, the third largest oceanic expanse in the world, is the birthplace of maritime civilisation and has always been an ‘active’ ocean. It is now perceived to be the world's centre of gravity in strategic terms, proving the prophetic words that are often attributed to A.T. Mahan: ‘Whoever controls the Indian Ocean will dominate Asia … the destiny of the world would be decided on its waters’. P. K. Ghosh | May 2012 | Strategic Analysis
Beginning of the Countdown to Sectarian End-Game in Pakistan? The Pakistani leadership has apparently come to the point where it realises that for the survival of the country and its structures created by Jinnah, it must buy peace for the present with its arch-enemy India. P. K. Upadhyay | April 27, 2012 | Issue Brief
India Launches Radar Satellite ISRO has done its job and now the onus lies on other agencies to make appropriate and timely use of the inputs that will be provided by RISAT-1. Ajey Lele | April 27, 2012 | IDSA Comments
Visit of the Indian Parliamentary Delegation to Sri Lanka The delegation seems to have got its message across, that effective engagement with the TNA cannot be avoided by the Rajapakse government. Gautam Sen | April 26, 2012 | IDSA Comments
