Power Politics And Maritime Governance In The Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is of tremendous geo-political and strategic relevance. More than eighty per cent of global seaborne trade in oil passes through the Ocean. Access to resources is under-regulated (fishing) or has yet to be conceived (deep sea bed mining) and security concerns such as piracy and the stability of strategically located states, are propelling countries to rethink naval capabilities and priorities. This applies to littoral countries as well as to extra-regional powers such as China, Japan, European countries and the United States, each of which is keenly interested in maintaining and securing open sea-lanes of communication. The revival in maritime concern is prompting new dynamics of competition and cooperation in a region that has historically been characterised by dense cultural, economic and political networks. The Indian Ocean is an extensive and expansive space where no one power has been able to hold sway. Hence, multilateralism and open regionalism are key contributors to stability, both in terms of military as well as commercial coordination. In this issue, scholars from Asia, Europe and the US examine institutions and examples of maritime governance within the Indian Ocean including security arrangements, evolving forms of alliance building and counter-balancing, policy planning and forecasting. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of the Indian Ocean Region.

It is a privilege to introduce the reader to this book, as I believe that it will make a signi?cant contribution to, given the dif?culties in the knowledge of the Indian Ocean, developing cooperation in the Indian Ocean region. There have been numerous failed efforts at regional cooperation in different fora in the Indian Ocean. As a result of the land-based orientation of the people in the region, the importance for countries to develop the power to govern the sea has largely been ignored. The maritime approach taken by Manoj Gupta to the Indian Ocean as a region in international relations offers a timely and critical assessment of the potential for regional cooperation and ocean governance. The political leadership in the region can no longer ignore the need for coop- ation in maritime affairs in the Indian Ocean. This book enriches the literature on Indian Ocean issues as it argues convincingly that the security of nations, economic well-being of the people and health of the Indian Ocean cannot be divested from one another. All are fundamentally dependant on the ability of the countries in the region to individually and collectively exert the power to govern the sea.

Five out of the eight South Asian countries have direct access to the Indian ocean, yet research tends to focus instead on the region's landmass. Much less attention is paid to the extensive maritime space that links South Asian countries, provides their populations with vital access to resources, connects their economies to global trade networks and perhaps most importantly, contributes to law and order at sea. At a time when the Indian Ocean has gained great interest and relevance for many global actors, the role and location of South Asia will have critical implications for strategic calculation and alignment. Furthermore, if trade imbalances are to be tackled and economic globalization to regain steam, enhancing South Asia's ability to export and import through the oceans is essential. Finally, climate change is projected to impact South Asia massively. Coping with humanitarian crises and natural disasters will need critical investments in maritime capacities and cooperation. This edited volume brings together multiple perspectives on contemporary maritime governance in South Asia, from practitioners, policy-makers and academics around the world. They examine India's role as South Asia's leading naval and economic power and the capacity of key actors to shape maritime order in the Indian Ocean. Contents: Foreword (Tommy Koh) Preface and Acknowledgements List of Contributors Editorial Introduction (Jivanta Schoettli) Order: Security in the Indian Ocean (Shivshankar Menon) Sri Lanka's Role in the Indian Ocean and the Changing Global Dynamics (Harsha de Silva) Resolution of Maritime Boundary Disputes among Bangladesh, Myanmar and India in the Bay of Bengal (Md Khurshed Alam) Maritime Safety and Security and Development of the Blue Economy in the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) (K V Bhagirath) oes India Use Trade Effectively? (Frank Lavin) Leadership: India as a Net Security Provider in the Indian Ocean Region: The Strategic Approach of a Responsible Stakeholder (Abhay Kumar Singh) Does South Asia Use Trade Effectively? (Frank Lavin) Indonesia's Maritime Vision in the Indian Ocean: Negotiating National Interest and Regional Commitment (Adriana Elisabeth) The United States and the Indian Ocean: Power Shifts and Uncertain Leadership (Deepa M Ollapally) Institutions: New Maritime Governance and Cooperation Arrangements in the Eastern Indian Ocean: Challenges and Prospects (David Brewster) Organized Against Organized Maritime Crimes — The National Maritime Single Point of Contact(Martin A Sebastian RMN (R)) IORA, The Blue Economy and Ocean Governance (V N Attri) The Jakarta IORA Summit: A Way Ahead for a Stable Indian Ocean Maritime Order? (Yogendra Kumar) Prospects and Perspectives: The Indian Ocean and China's Expanding Influence: Prospects for Cooperation among the Key Asian Energy Importers (Christopher Len) Governing the Ocean: Perspectives from Tanzania (Hoseana Bohela Lunogelo) Governing the Ocean: An EU Perspective (Marianne Péron-Doise) Postscript: The Blue Economy Beckons (James Alix Michel) Readership: Undergraduate students of maritime studies, international relations and South Asian politics, and general readers interested in the South Asian region. Keywords: Indian Ocean;Maritime Governance;South Asia;India;Sri Lanka;Boundary;Blue Economy;IORA;Trade;Indonesia;Cooperation;Maritime Crime;ChinaRev

This book assesses India’s role as a major power in the Indian Ocean. Many see the Indian Ocean as naturally falling within India’s sphere of influence but, as this book demonstrates, India has a long way to go before it could achieve regional dominance. The book outlines the development of Indian thinking on its role in the Indian Ocean and examines India’s strategic relationships in the region, including with maritime South Asia, the Indian Ocean islands, East Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Australia. The book then discusses India’s ambivalent relationship with the United States and explores its attitude towards China’s growing power in the Indian Ocean. It concludes by discussing the region’s evolving strategic order – does India have what it takes to become the leading power in the region?

This study focuses on the political and strategic implications of the presence in the Indian Ocean of the United States and the Soviet Union. The author examines the geopolitics of the region in historical perspective and describes the evolution of U.S. and Soviet strategy in the Indian Ocean. The central theme of the book is that the naval deployments of the superpowers should be seen in the context of each power's economic and security interests rather than in the context of military rivalry. The book provides an incisive and comprehensive account of U.S. and Soviet strategies in the Indian Ocean by establishing and integrating the links between the economic, political, and strategic dynamics of the situation.