INDIAN OCEAN AS INDIAS OCEAN

The Indian Navy has been bolstering maritime security through improved maritime domain awareness and forging networks with nations of the Indian Ocean Region. but india must invest more in maritime capability if it is to be pre-eminent in the IOR

- Adml Sunil Lanba

The Indian Ocean is the third largest ocean in the world, and the nations along its periphery and hinterland account for over 35 per cent of the global population and some of the fastest growing economies in the world. The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) has emerged as a significant driver of global economic growth.

Two-thirds of global oil shipments, half the world's container traffic and one-third of bulk cargo shipments traverse through the international sea lanes of the IOR. India's central position in the IOR, astride the important sea lanes of the world, gives us immense strategic advantages. It facilitates reach, sustenance and mobility of our maritime forces, thereby giving us an ability to effectively influence this maritime space. While geography affords us opportunities to harness the seas to our advantage, it has also placed us at the very centre of the ongoing 'strategic churn' taking place in this region. Its impact on us in the future will be determined by our outlook and choices that are adopted today.

There is an old adage among sailors that, 'while borders divide, the seas connect'.

Accordingly, navies have endeavoured to build partnerships, mutual trust and confidence with friendly foreign countries. In the contemporary geostrategic landscape, the Indian Navy's cooperative initiatives provide significant tools for India's foreign policy to work towards making the IOR India's ocean.