Maritime Security

The Andaman and Nicobar islands are of immense strategic significance for India. The geographical configuration and the location of the island chain in the Bay of Bengal safeguards India's eastern seaboard as well the approaches to the Indian Ocean from the east. Its proximity to the Southeast Asian region enables India to forge friendly relations with its Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) neighbours. The physical isolation and remoteness of the archipelago, however, make it vulnerable to conventional and non-conventional threats.

• Pushpita Das
• May 2011
• Strategic Analysis

Rampant piracy off the Somalia coast has brought the strife-ridden country back into attention. Economic hardship, and a deep resentment and anger against foreign exploitation of Somalia's maritime resources, have inspired the pirates to declare themselves 'coast guards of Somalia'. However, the growing attacks by the pirates have had an adverse impact on global commercial shipping. The international community has responded to this predicament by massive naval deployments in the Gulf of Aden.

• Ruchita Beri
• May 2011
• Strategic Analysis

In a nutshell the article posits that American naval power, and thus the United States' ability to police the seas, will continue to decline, and that Washington is attempting to compensate by fashioning a new paradigm of multinational maritime security. With no likely candidate for a global navy in the offing the challenge is to create one or more multinational guarantors of free navigation. I attempt to gaze into the future, discerning the likely dynamics of this coalition-building project.

• James R. Holmes
• May 2011
• Strategic Analysis

A fresh look is required at the international level to deal with this scourge effectively. It is time for India to take the lead and push for a change in tack both regionally and in international fora.

• Sarabjeet Singh Parmar
• February 14, 2011
• Issue Brief

The changing security environment calls for re-fashioning the use of hard power, which may have to be managed differently in the future.

• Harinder Singh
• January 24, 2011
• Issue Brief

The recent increase in top level Indian delegation visits to Colombo indicates that India has entered a new and more comprehensive phase of bilateral relations with Sri Lanka.

• Hemantha Dayaratne
• January 03, 2011
• IDSA Comments

While India is augmenting the security of the Lakshadweep islands, implementation of the coastal security scheme on the ground has been slow.

• Pushpita Das
• December 13, 2010
• IDSA Comments

Sino-US rivalry has been simmering for the past many years, as China has replaced Russia in the American scheme of things as its most potent adversary.

• Rajeev Sharma
• October 13, 2010
• IDSA Comments

Once the Chinese achieve the capability of producing UUVs with deep depth capability, they could surround India by placing these submersibles at strategic places.

• Sarabjeet Singh Parmar
• September 16, 2010
• IDSA Comments

As high-profile incidents of piracy become more common off Somalia, strategists have taken to urging the US government to send expeditionary forces ashore. The article uses history and Clausewitzian theory to estimate the nature of the threat and the likely efficacy of a land campaign. Even successful operations would entail costs exceeding the value of the political stakes. For this reason alone, going ashore is inadvisable.

• James R. Holmes
• September 2010
• Strategic Analysis