FOCUS | THEMATIC | INDIAN OCEAN REGION
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Mapping the Maldives: Why Hydrography is the New Geopolitics of the Indian Ocean
Sayantan Bandyopadhyay. · 26 Dec, 2025 · #5898 · Commentary
Malé, the capital of the Maldives, witnessed a large ‘Lootuvaifi’ (‘Stop the Looting’) rally on 3 October 2025. This was the biggest public demonstration against President Mohamed Muizzu since his election. The opposition Maldives Democratic ...
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What Explains the Decadal Upswing in India-UAE Relations?
Muneer Ahmed. · 31 Mar, 2024 · #5873 · Commentary
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s seventh visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in February this year marks a significant milestone in bilateral relations. The visit saw an extensive review of the strategic partnership, with discussion on new areas ...
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Why the Conflict in West Asia is Complicating India’s Maritime Security
Siddharth Anil Nair. · 25 Jan, 2024 · #5866 · Commentary
India’s
fundamental maritime security objective is to deter conflict and coercion
from the sea. Recent developments in its regional security environment have
created new complications in this pursuit. The conflict in West Asia has
extended into ...
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Middle Kingdom
Gunboat Diplomacy with Chinese Characteristics: Why the Yuan Wang 5’s Arrival in Sri Lanka is Consequential for South Asia
Srikanth Kondapalli. · 22 Aug, 2022 · #5825 · Commentary
Despite serious reservations
expressed by both Sri Lanka and India,
and after a clearance
delay of five days,
China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Strategic Support Force vessel Yuan Wang 5 finally docked
at Chinese-leased Hambantota port ...
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Climate Resilience and the Quad
Akash Ramnath. · 30 Jun, 2022 · #5821 · Commentary
Members of the Quad met in Tokyo in May this
year to discuss the most urgent matters impacting Indo-Pacific security, namely
China's regional growth and the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The
Quad or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, c ...
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The Strategist
Quad and AUKUS: Compacts to Collar China
Vice Admiral Vijay Shankar. · 30 Nov, 2021 · #5797 · Commentary
A historical analogy may be necessary
to fully understand the looming conflict between Chinese authoritarianism and
the uneasy democracies of the world. In the run up to the First World War,
Germany pursued a combination of militarism, overbearing ...
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2010-2020: Decadal Trends
India and Southeast Asia: New Energy; Old Hiccups
Angshuman Choudhury. · 30 Jun, 2021 · #5773 · Commentary
While
India’s relationship with Southeast Asia is ancient, the past decade (2010-20)
witnessed a fresh surge. From ‘Looking East’ to ‘Acting East’, India and the
Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) region found new momentum t ...
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Why India Should Prioritise its Inner-Maritime Regions
Siddharth Anil Nair. · 16 Feb, 2021 · #5756 · Commentary
India entered 2021 faced with two security
challenges: a standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and China’s growing covert presence in the eastern Indian Ocean (EIO). These challenges should signal to
New Delhi the need to develop its ow ...
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In Context: India’s Renewed IOR Outreach
Dr. Sripathi Narayanan. · 17 Dec, 2020 · #5746 · Commentary
The simultaneous November 2020 visits by India’s
External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S Jaishakar and National Security Advisor
(NSA) Ajit Doval to island-states in the
Indian Ocean Region (IOR) took place in the backdrop of the recently-concluded ...
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Maritime Matters
Indian Navy: Time to Expand the Geographical Scope of Mission Based Deployments
Vijay Sakhuja. · 10 Nov, 2020 · #5739 · Commentary
The
Indian Navy has added a new acronym—TIDE—to its lexicon, which stands for
Trust; Interoperability; Domain Awareness; and Enhanced Engagements. In his online address, titled “SAGAR - Charting
India’s Maritime Security,” to the Nationa ...
