First published in 2007, this book focuses on the security of sea lanes of communication. It was a joint publication between the Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA) and the Indian Ocean Research Group (IORG) and is an important book for three particular reasons. First, it takes a step forward in identifying key policy themes that can be applied to interstate cooperation around the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). Second, the particular theme discussed is not only central to the economic well-being of Indian Ocean countries, but also to many of the world’s most important trading states, and finally the various discussions within the book raise a host of issues to which regional as well as non-regional policy-makers should give serious consideration.

In the twenty-first century, the Indo-Pacific, which spans from the western Pacific Ocean to the western Indian Ocean along the eastern coast of Africa, has emerged as a crucial geostrategic region for trade, investment, energy supplies, cooperation, and competition. It presents complex maritime security challenges and interlocking economic interests that require the development of an overarching multilateral security framework. This volume develops common approaches by focusing on geopolitical challenges, transnational security concerns, and multilateral institution-building and cooperation. The chapters, written by a cross-section of practitioners, diplomats, policymakers, and scholars from the three major powers discussed (United States, China, India) explain the opportunities and risks in the Indo-Pacific region and identify specific naval measures needed to enhance maritime security in the region. Maritime Security in the Indo-Pacific opens by introducing the Indo-Pacific and outlining the roles of China, India, and the United States in various maritime issues in the region. It then focuses on the security challenges presented by maritime disputes, naval engagement, legal issues, sea lanes of communication, energy transport, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, as well as by nontraditional threats, such as piracy, terrorism, and weapons proliferation. It compares and contrasts the roles and perspectives of the key maritime powers, analyzing the need for multilateral cooperation to overcome the traditional and nontraditional challenges and security dilemma. This shows that, in spite of their different interests, capabilities, and priorities, Washington, Beijing and New Delhi can and do engage in cooperation to deal with transnational security challenges. Lastly, the book describes how to promote maritime cooperation by establishing or strengthening multilateral mechanisms and measures that would reduce the prospects for conflict in the Indo-Pacific region.

Japan, the geopolitical lynchpin in the East Asian region, has developed a unique maritime security policy and interpretation of the law of the sea. Japanese Maritime Security and the Law of the Sea examines Japan’s domestic laws and its approach to international law.

This book provides a comprehensive view of the maritime safety and security challenges in countries of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA). Various issues such as trans-national crime including piracy, terrorism, drug and arms smuggling; Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HA/DR) and maritime and aeronautical Search and Rescue (SAR); Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing and resource management for sustainable development are viewed from the perspectives of IORA members. It also discusses the role of cooperative organizational structures and the need for capability building and capacity optimization in the light of existing legal frameworks for enhancing maritime safety and security in the Indian Ocean.

The basic theme of this book the importance of dealing effectively with the compulsions and complexities of India s maritime security necessitates a sophisticated, and often, complicated, interplay of the country s economic, foreign, and defence policies.

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It is a privilege to introduce the reader to this book, as I believe that it will make a signi?cant contribution to, given the dif?culties in the knowledge of the Indian Ocean, developing cooperation in the Indian Ocean region. There have been numerous failed efforts at regional cooperation in different fora in the Indian Ocean. As a result of the land-based orientation of the people in the region, the importance for countries to develop the power to govern the sea has largely been ignored. The maritime approach taken by Manoj Gupta to the Indian Ocean as a region in international relations offers a timely and critical assessment of the potential for regional cooperation and ocean governance. The political leadership in the region can no longer ignore the need for coop- ation in maritime affairs in the Indian Ocean. This book enriches the literature on Indian Ocean issues as it argues convincingly that the security of nations, economic well-being of the people and health of the Indian Ocean cannot be divested from one another. All are fundamentally dependant on the ability of the countries in the region to individually and collectively exert the power to govern the sea.

The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is one of the most areas of the world in human terms. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the subregions and countries in the IOR, drawing heavily on a new country risk assessment model developed by Abdullah Toukan, a senior associate with the Burke Chair at CSIS. It provides detailed graphs, tables, and maps covering the IOR as a whole, each major subregion, and each of the thirty-two countries in the region as well as the impact of U.S. and Chinese military forces.

The Indian Ocean is of tremendous geo-political and strategic relevance. More than eighty per cent of global seaborne trade in oil passes through the Ocean. Access to resources is under-regulated (fishing) or has yet to be conceived (deep sea bed mining) and security concerns such as piracy and the stability of strategically located states, are propelling countries to rethink naval capabilities and priorities. This applies to littoral countries as well as to extra-regional powers such as China, Japan, European countries and the United States, each of which is keenly interested in maintaining and securing open sea-lanes of communication. The revival in maritime concern is prompting new dynamics of competition and cooperation in a region that has historically been characterised by dense cultural, economic and political networks. The Indian Ocean is an extensive and expansive space where no one power has been able to hold sway. Hence, multilateralism and open regionalism are key contributors to stability, both in terms of military as well as commercial coordination. In this issue, scholars from Asia, Europe and the US examine institutions and examples of maritime governance within the Indian Ocean including security arrangements, evolving forms of alliance building and counter-balancing, policy planning and forecasting. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of the Indian Ocean Region.