Strategic Concepts Of The Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean, with its critical routes for global commerce, is a potentially volatile location for geopolitical strife. Even as the region’s role in the international economy and as a highway to conflict zones increases, the US has failed to advance a coherent strategy for protecting its interests in the Indian Ocean or for managing complex diplomatic relationships across the region. The Indian Ocean and US Grand Strategy presents a range of viewpoints about whether and how the US should alter its diplomatic and military strategies for this region. Contributors examine US interests in the Indian Ocean, assess the relative critical importance or imperiled nature of these interests, and propose solutions for American strategy ranging from minimal change to maximum engagement. The book concludes with a comparative assessment of these options and a discussion of their implications for US policymakers. This volume’s perspectives and analysis of the Indian Ocean region will be valued by scholars and students of US foreign policy, South Asia, and security studies as well as by diplomats, military officers, and other practitioners.

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.

'For the strategic studies student or maritime affairs buff the book is a must. No where outside of far more costly texts or seminars will this much knowledge on the maritime affairs of this region be imparted. Sage Publications are to be congratulated upon the format and publication of this timely work.' -- Military Journal 'This brief work is yet another in the growing collection of generally excellent policy-related monographs on international affairs underwritten by the Center for Strategic and International Studies of Georgetown University in Washington, DC.' -- The Middle East Journal, Summer 1983 'Authored by distinguished scholars, with valuable insights and descriptions and a detailed bibliography,

This is the first academic study of India's emerging maritime strategy, and offers a systematic analysis of the interplay between Western military thought and Indian maritime traditions. By a quirk of historical fate, Europe embarked on its Age of Discovery just as the main Asian powers were renouncing the sea, ushering in centuries of Western dominance. In the 21st century, however, Asian states are once again resuming a naval focus, with both China and India dedicating some of their new-found wealth to building powerful navies and coast guards, and drawing up maritime strategies to govern the use of these forces. The United States, like the British Empire before it, is attempting to manage these rising sea powers while preserving its maritime primacy. This book probes how India looks at the sea, what kind of strategy and seagoing forces New Delhi may craft in the coming years, and how Indian leaders may use these forces. It examines the material dimension, but its major premise is that navies represent a physical expression of a society's history, philosophical traditions, and culture. This book, then, ventures a comprehensive appraisal of Indian maritime strategy. This book will be of interest to students of sea power, strategic studies, Indian politics and Asian Studies in general. James R. Holmes is an Associate Professor of Strategy at the U.S. Naval War College and a former U.S. Navy surface warfare officer. Toshi Yoshihara is an Associate Professor in the Strategy and Policy Department at the Naval War College. Andrew C. Winner is Professor in the Strategic Research Department at the U.S. Naval War College.

Viewing the countries surrounding the Indian Ocean as a distinct region united by instabilities as well as mutual interests, these essays examine whether stability in the region will be achieved through the buildup of military strength and the formation of new cooperative security arrangements. The contributors focus on the five subregions--the Persian Gulf, South Asia, the Red Sea and Horn of Africa, Eastern and Southern Africa, and Australasia. Among topics discussed are: developments that affect the region, including expansion of navies; the prospect for arms limitation; the implications of the Iranian Revolution for the Persian Gulf as well as for its internal stability; the political and economic ramifications of the South Africa/black Africa animosity; the religious, ethnic, and political conflicts of southern and eastern Asia; and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. ISBN 0-8223-0649-2: $55.00.