Maritime Security

India must actively engage the island nations in the Western Indian Ocean and enhance the scope and deployment of the Indian Navy and its air aim in these waters.

• Mandip Singh
• December 15, 2011
• IDSA Comments

The island hopping game being played out is an indication of China’s strategy for gaining access to the IOR by developing the capabilities of “reach”, “presence” and “sustainability”.

• Sarabjeet Singh Parmar
• December 15, 2011
• IDSA Comments

A study of how the case of MV Suez a pirated vessel was handled would serve to provide some invaluable lessons on how India and Pakistan should join hands to take on this menace in the Indian Ocean. An otherwise well conducted rescue operations by the Pakistan navy, resulted in a near collision between PNS Babur and INS Godavari endangering the crew and the ships. Briefly put, the MV Suez was hijacked by the pirates who held the ship and its crew hostage while negotiating the ransom money for over ten months.

• R. S. Vasan
• October 2011
• Journal of Defence Studies

The Jeju naval base is intended to serve two objectives: to protect the country from possible missile attacks from North Korea and to allow the United States to station Aegis class destroyers.

• Rajaram Panda
• September 01, 2011
• Issue Brief

In a nutshell the article posits that American naval power, and thus the United States' ability to police the seas, will continue to decline, and that Washington is attempting to compensate by fashioning a new paradigm of multinational maritime security. With no likely candidate for a global navy in the offing the challenge is to create one or more multinational guarantors of free navigation. I attempt to gaze into the future, discerning the likely dynamics of this coalition-building project.

• James R. Holmes
• May 2011
• Strategic Analysis

Rampant piracy off the Somalia coast has brought the strife-ridden country back into attention. Economic hardship, and a deep resentment and anger against foreign exploitation of Somalia's maritime resources, have inspired the pirates to declare themselves 'coast guards of Somalia'. However, the growing attacks by the pirates have had an adverse impact on global commercial shipping. The international community has responded to this predicament by massive naval deployments in the Gulf of Aden.

• Ruchita Beri
• May 2011
• Strategic Analysis

The Andaman and Nicobar islands are of immense strategic significance for India. The geographical configuration and the location of the island chain in the Bay of Bengal safeguards India's eastern seaboard as well the approaches to the Indian Ocean from the east. Its proximity to the Southeast Asian region enables India to forge friendly relations with its Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) neighbours. The physical isolation and remoteness of the archipelago, however, make it vulnerable to conventional and non-conventional threats.

• Pushpita Das
• May 2011
• Strategic Analysis

A fresh look is required at the international level to deal with this scourge effectively. It is time for India to take the lead and push for a change in tack both regionally and in international fora.

• Sarabjeet Singh Parmar
• February 14, 2011
• Issue Brief

The changing security environment calls for re-fashioning the use of hard power, which may have to be managed differently in the future.

• Harinder Singh
• January 24, 2011
• Issue Brief

The recent increase in top level Indian delegation visits to Colombo indicates that India has entered a new and more comprehensive phase of bilateral relations with Sri Lanka.

• Hemantha Dayaratne
• January 03, 2011
• IDSA Comments