Strategic Analysis

Maritime Developments in the South Western Indian Ocean and the Potential for India’s Engagement with the Region

The Indian Ocean region, being a vast geographical entity, is composed of various regional and sub-regional entities. This article addresses prominent maritime developments in the South Western Indian Ocean (SWIO) region of the Indian Ocean Rim and highlights the multi-dimensional growth of strategic maritime activities in the region.

India’s Maritime Core Interests

While the maritime doctrine was published by the Indian navy in 2004 and improved upon in 2007, the core interests identified were as seen through the prism of the navy. The national maritime interests of India are distinctly different from the ones identified by the Indian navy and need to be analysed to understand the nuances and the dimensions of such interests so as to promote India's maritime power potential.

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.

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’.

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.

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.

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.

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’.

Iran’s Influence: A Religious-Political State and Society in Its Region by Elaheh Rostami-Povey

Elaheh Rostami-Povey focuses on the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and the speedy consolidation of the Islamic Republic. She argues that the Islamic Revolution did not dismantle history and progress within Iran. Rather, it provided an opportunity to form progressive grassroots movements to resist the highly autocratic and repressive nature of the Iranian state. Rostami-Povey tries to discover the links between Iran's internal political development and Islamist ideology and their connection with its mostly regional but also worldwide role.