ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the evolution of U.S. policy towards the Indian Ocean region in recent years. It considers the factors that have driven a debate over the Indian Ocean, and the challenges to develop a coherent, overarching new strategy for the region. It takes into account how the Indian Ocean fits into the “rebalancing” to Asia, and some of the intrinsic ways in which the Indian Ocean is in itself an increasingly important part of global geography.
