India's Ocean: The Story of India's Bid for Regional Leadership

Abstract

India aspires to be the dominant power in the Indian Ocean, and this goal may \ncome within its reach in coming decades. This book looks at India’s strategic \nambitions in the Indian Ocean as part of the shifting balance of power in \nAsia. It will ask whether India has the wherewithal to become the leading \npower in the Indian Ocean. \nIndia has long seen itself as the natural leader in the Indian Ocean—and \nwants to ensure that it remains ‘India’s Ocean’. During the colonial era, India \nwas the hub of Britain’s Indian Ocean empire and, after a gap of some 60 years, \nIndia is slowly re-emerging as the natural centre of gravity for the region. Its rise \nas a global economic and military power is leading it to it look towards an \nexpanded strategic role in the region and on the world stage. Some in New \nDelhi see control over the Indian Ocean as essential to prevent the possible \n‘encirclement’ of India by hostile powers. Others regard an Indian sphere of \ninfluence in the Indian Ocean region as an essential building block in the fulfillment of India’s destiny to become a global power. But most Indians would \nstrongly reject the idea that India has any hegemonic ambitions in the Indian \nOcean, instead seeing it as a friendly policeman that can provide security in a \ntroubled region and help keep unwanted outsiders away. Over the last decade or \nso, India has successfully presented itself as a benign and cooperative security \nprovider throughout much of the Indian Ocean. But India also tends to have \na hierarchical view of the international order which may have consequences \nfor the region

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