Research Fellow, IDSA Dr. S. Kalyanaraman’ review of the book The Costliest Pearl: China’s Struggle for India’s Ocean by Bertil Lintner, titled ‘Chinese dragon’s increasing presence in the Indian Ocean; has been published by ‘The Tribune’ on November 10, 2019.
Describing the book as a useful contribution to one’s understanding of the new Asian Drama unfolding in the Indian Ocean , Dr. Kalyanaraman writes that China’s pursuit of the ambition of controlling the Indian Ocean is compelling other states with island territories to strengthen their internal defences as well as enhance security cooperation. On this aspect, Lintner provides excellent overviews of the island territories and threat perceptions of India, France and Australia, and highlights their coming together along with Japan and America in an informal alliance “to counter China’s increasingly assertive stand” in the Indian Ocean Region.