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Volume 82 – No. 2

India in the Indian Ocean: Growing Mismatch between Ambitions and Capabilities

Harsh V. Pant

DOI: 10.5509/2009822279

  • English Abstract
  • French Abstract

 

Given the rise of major economic powers in the Asia-Pacific that rely on energy imports to sustain their economic growth, the Indian Ocean region has assumed a new importance. Various powers are once again vying for the control of the waves in this part of the world. This article examines the emerging Indian approach towards the Indian Ocean in the context of India’s rise as a major regional and global actor. It argues that though India has historically viewed the Indian Ocean region as one in which it would like to establish its own predominance, its limited material capabilities have constrained its options. With the expansion, however, of India’s economic and military capabilities, the country’s ambitions vis-à-vis this region are soaring once again. India is also trying its best to respond to the challenge that growing Chinese capabilities in the Indian Ocean are posing to the region and beyond. Yet, preponderance in the Indian Ocean region, though much desired by the Indian strategic elites, remains an unrealistic aspiration for India given the significant stakes that other major powers have in the region.

L’Inde et l’Océan indien: Dissonances grandissantes entre ses ambitions et ses capacités

Étant donné que l’essor des plus grandes puissances économiques de l’Asie du Pacifique est à la merci des importations d’énergie pour maintenir leur croissance économique dans la région, l’Océan indien a repris une importance stratétique. Divers puissances rivalisent à nouveau entre elles pour maintenir leur contrôle sur les mers dans cette région du monde. Dû au nouvel essor économique de l’Inde en tant qu’acteur majeur aussi bien sur le plan régional que mondial, l’article étudie ici ses stratégies récentes pour gagner le contrôle de l’Océan indien. Cette étude avance que bien que l’Inde a, historiquement, considéré la région de l’Océan indien comme étant un lieu où elle souhaiterait établir sa propre suprématie, ses capacités matérielles quelque peu restreintes ne le lui permettent pas. En revanche, dû à l’accroîssement récent de ses capacités économiques et militaires, ses ambitions renaissent envers cette région. L’Inde tente par ailleurs de réagir de son mieux au défi que pose les capacités grandissantes de la Chine dans la région et au-delà. Bien que cette région soit convoitée par l’élite de stratégie indienne, et étant donné les enjeux importants que détiennent d’autres grandes puissances dans la région, l’hégémonie de l’Inde reste néanmoins une aspiration irréaliste dans cette région de l’Océan indien.

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An International Review of Asia and the Pacific

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