Strategic Significance of the Indian Ocean Region

Abstract

The importance of the Indian Ocean as a geopolitical focal area is increasingly being recognized. However, the IOR is difficult to deal with as an integrated entity. Geography, combined with historical, cultural, racial, ethnic, economic, political and ideological factors, makes conceptualizing the IOR as a unified entity highly problematic. In modern times and until recently, the Indian Ocean has been viewed by external powers as primarily a maritime trade route, an extensive waterway that connects west with east. In geopolitical terms, the IOR is perceived to be a largely disaggregated oceanic and littoral region, more a collection of sub-regions than a single region.¹ However, there is a developing consensus that the Indian Ocean, as a vital component of the Indo Pacific confluence, will play a much more important role in shaping the contemporary and future international context than it has done for centuries.² The notion of a merged and continuous ‘Indo-Pacific’ has gained currency, particularly in western policy pronouncements.