ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the interrelationship of a series of trends that shaped the direction of the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific regions during the 46 years between the end of World War II and the collapse of the USSR in 1991. The trends include the declining colonial presence of the European maritime power throughout Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean basin; the Cold War confrontation between the United States and the USSR as reflected in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific regions. While Great Britain entered World War II as the naval hegemon dominating the Indian Ocean basin, in the decades after World War II, British national security policy makers were forced to adjust to the new, complex, post-war international and military-technological environment. Security interests involve the protection of the political independence and territorial integrity of the United States; and preservation of the freedom and security of the American people.
