ABSTRACT
India dominates the Indian Ocean geographically. It cannot but play a major role in ensuring its security. More so, India’s stakes and those of others in the Indian Ocean have increased considerably over the years. On the one hand, India’s growing economy, its expanding trade, its energy needs, the threat of terrorism it faces, the presence of hostile navies in the region, the search for port facilities, and eventually naval bases close to Indian shores by outside powers all dictate that India builds sufficient capacity to protect its interests at sea. On the other hand, with global economic growth shifting to Asia, and trade and energy flows through the Indian Ocean in both directions expanding phenomenally in recent decades, concerns of other countries about the safety of sea lanes of communication have grown.
