ABSTRACT
China has embarked upon economic expansion on what it terms the '21st Century Maritime Silk Road'. The historic evidence of the global vision of India is evidenced by the Sri Lankan chronicle Dipavamsa. Emperor Asoka stands out in Indian history by his unique global vision which encompassed Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Western kingdoms. The foundation and flourishing of Champa on the major marine trade route from Kanchi to Canton, or from the Southeast Asian isles to Canton, was part of a new historic phenomenon of the fast emergence of cultural kingdoms from tribal orders. Champa with its vibrant Sanskrit culture as can be visualized in the elaborate metres of her inscriptions, with its rich holdings of Sanskrit texts, its advanced technology of navigation, controlled the shipping from Kanchi to Canton. Champa lay on two major marine routes from India to China and from the Indonesian world to China.
