China-India and Maritime Security: A Contest for Power and Influence in the Indian Ocean

Abstract

Strategic competition between India and China has the potential to profoundly affect the stability and security of the Indo-Pacific. The countries’ relationship in the maritime realm is part of a broader relationship that includes elements of cooperation, coexistence, and competition. But there are also factors that tend to give the maritime security relationship its own, often negative, dynamic. Delhi considers itself the leading Indian Ocean state and a natural leader of the Indian Ocean region (IOR) and as the regional security manager of South Asia. It takes a somewhat proprietorial attitude toward the Indian Ocean, perceiving the presence of extra-regional powers, particularly China, as essentially illegitimate. In contrast, Beijing is assertively expanding its economic, political, and military role in the Indian Ocean and refuses to recognize India’s claims for a special role in the region. Show more