Harnessing Opportunities and Overcoming Challenges: Maritime Security in the Indian Ocean Region

Based on the work of the Maritime Security Working Group within the Strategic Studies Network (SSN), this report provides both diagnosis and prescriptions regarding security threats in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The IOR, a large maritime area that extends from coastal Africa through the Middle East and South Asia and on to Australia, is a major conduit for global trade, a littoral zone of developing powers, and the focus of a series of rising security challenges. Thus, not only is the security of the IOR of major importance for IOR littoral states, it is also of vital importance for much of landlocked Africa and Asia, along with major economic powers like China, the European Union and the United States.