By Dmitry Filipoff
We received a strong and quality response to our Call for Articles requesting publications on India’s Role in the Asia-Pacific. Our authors were diverse in background and experience. Their analysis highlighted competition between India and China in the maritime domain, various foreign policy initiatives of the Modi administration, and India’s aspiration to assume greater influence and responsibility on the international stage. We thank our authors for their excellent contributions.
Below is a list of the articles that featured during the topic week, with relevant excerpts outlining the main thrust of each publication’s analysis.
India as the Pivotal Power of the 21st Century Security Order by MAJ Chad Pillai
“As the United States increasingly faces challenges to its global power by Iran, Russia, and China, its relationship with India will grow in strategic importance.”
How The Indian Ocean Remains Central to India’s Emerging Aspirations by Vidya Sagar Reddy
“Safe maritime connectivity, external trading, and overseas investments require India develop political confidence in its neighborhood and a dedicated navy to ensure secure seas.”
India-China Competition Across the Indo-Pacific by David Scott
“Implicit competition in what has been dubbed “a new great game for influence in the Indo-Pacific” between these two rising powers is the order of the day in the Indian Ocean, the South China Sea, the West Pacific, and the South Pacific.”
Sino-India Strategic Rivalry: Misperception or Reality by Ching Chang
“Whether the maritime competition between China and India is in the Indian Ocean or the South China Sea may prove to be only an elusive speculation though seemingly plausible.”
Diluting the Concentration of Regional Power Players in Maldives by MAJ Ahmed Mujuthaba
“Even though it is popular for its crystalline waters and sun bathed beaches, recently Maldives has been appearing on the minds and finds of security strategists. So why have strategists shifted their gaze to this tiny tourist destination all of a sudden? Two reasons: India and China.”
Strategic Maritime Balancing in Sino-Indian Foreign Policy by Ryan Kuhns
“Not only have the mountain passes and peaks of the Himalayas become zones for potential conflict, where in the past they served as natural buffers, but the shared space of the Indo-Pacific also links the interests and security concerns of present day India and China.”
India in the Asia-Pacific: Roles as a ‘Balancer’ and Net Security Provider by Ajaya Kumar Das
“While India’s ascendance to great power status will take time, owing to domestic constraints, how India positions itself in the Indo-Pacific balance of power and rises as a ‘net security provider’ will contribute significantly to its security and status.”
Modi’s Asia-Pacific Push by Vivek Mishra
“The Modi government’s strongly maritime oriented foreign policy launched in 2014 has proven somewhat rewarding, particularly in helping the Indian Navy transcend its image of a force that punches below its weight. The politico-strategic recalibration by India in its Asia-Pacific policy has sought to retool its mid-1990s Look East policy with more purpose.”
Understanding Sino-Indian Relations – A Theoretical Perspective by Byron Chong
“The analysis will show that Sino-Indian relations reflect a peculiar kind of stability: although their relationship will continue to be marked by distrust and intermittent disputes, the risk of escalation to war remains unlikely. In general, Sino-Indian relations are influenced by four factors: (1) their history of enmity; (2) strategic competition; (3) nuclear relations; and (4) trade.”
India as a Net Security-Provider in the Indian Ocean and Beyond by VADM Pradeep Chauhan (ret)
“The Prime Minister’s firm declaration of national intent for India to be a net security-provider in the Indian Ocean and beyond, means the various connotations of maritime security (defined as freedom from threats emanating ‘in’, ‘from’, or ‘through’ the medium of the sea can no longer be denied centrality in any serious consideration of India’s national security.”
Dmitry Filipoff is CIMSEC’s Director of Online Content. Reach the CIMSEC editorial team at Nextwar@cimsec.org.
I was privileged to have been able to contribute a piece to this excellent initiative and am greatly enriched by the written-submissions of my fellow contributors. I just wanted to place on record my gratitude to each of them, and, of course to Dmitry and his indefatigable team at CIMSEC, for the intellectual feast that I was able to gorge myself upon. To all those who took the time and trouble to comment, I also wish to thank you individually and collectively. It’s always good to know that one’s work is being read.
Warm Regards
VAdm Pradeep Chauhan