Maritime Security and Geopolitics in Indian Ocean Region (IOR): Evolution of India’s Maritime Strategy – Implications for Pakistan

Abstract

The security matrix of Indian Ocean is in a flux. With the pronouncement of US backed Indo-Pacific enterprise, and the advent of the ‘Asian Century,’ the maritime renaissance is already underway which has rejuvenated the essence of India’s maritime strategic vision. Indian Ocean is at the centre of India's strategic priorities in its pursuit of reclaiming preponderance and giving an impetus to its blue economy.
India’s national prestige for the dominance on land and sea, entwined with geo- economic needs and geostrategic threats perceived, determine its geopolitical imperatives. India’s maritime adventurism, as envisaged in its maritime strategic vision, embodied in maritime doctrines, exhibited in assertive Indian Navy’s posture, and enshrined in military modernization, articulates the agenda for securing SLOCs and deterring nuclear neighbors. Pakistan reciprocally perceives similar security threats from India at its eastern borders and in western waters. India’s maritime strategy, in its holistic version, potentially threatens CPEC and Pakistan’s economic and strategic interests in Indian Ocean. Within the thematic lines of Regional Security Complex Theory, this study highlights how mutual security threats shape naval postures of competing states. Moreover, ‘sea power’ as the conceptual narration of maritime security will help assess how Indian maritime strategy has evolved through recent decades and how it has shaped Pakistan’s policy actions and responses.