ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the key question of whether, and to what extent, the emerging relationship between China and India as strategic actors in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is being shaped by the natural dynamics of growing naval power. Rather than simply looking at the intersection of the two countries' political, economic and strategic interests in the region, as so many analyses tend to do. The chapter analyses aspects of the emerging seascape in order to explore their impact on regional stability. The focus on the naval factor in power relationships in the Indian Ocean would also seem amply justified by the burgeoning importance of seapower in general, particularly in the IOR. Naval technology has an independent role to play in the international context and its possible consequences for strategic stability in the IOR need to be explored under four headings: nuclear and other transformational weaponry; big against small; the question of access; and the offence/defence balance.
