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One of the biggest puzzles facing policy makers in India is the likely trajectory of China's future military power in South Asia and the broader Indian Ocean region. Protecting China's interests overseas: Securitization and foreign policy: by Andrea Ghiselli, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2021, 304 pp., £75 (Hardback), ISBN 978-0-1988-6739-5 In I Protecting China's Interests Overseas: Securitization and Foreign Policy i , Andrea Ghiselli helps us better understand the answers to these questions. [Extracted from the article]

There is a growing understanding among maritime security practitioners of the importance of Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) as an essential enabler of maritime security. This article describes Australia’s efforts to develop an integrated national MDA system that brings together data and intelligence from a range of military and civil agencies and commercial sources to which a risk-based assessment is applied. This has become an essential tool to combat transnational maritime security threats in the Indian Ocean and elsewhere. But inherent limitations of national MDA systems are also pushing Australia and other countries to cooperate in trying to improve MDA. This paper then examines ways in which Australia can promote MDA cooperation in the Indian Ocean. It considers the effectiveness and limitations of current and proposed multilateral information sharing arrangements in the region. It concludes that Australia should primarily focus on working with selected Indian Ocean partners to enhance information sharing and help develop integrated national MDA systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Persian Gulf is a crucial strategic space for India. Given India's size, its growing economic and military power, and its proximity, one might expect that India would be a natural regional security provider or even a hegemon in the gulf. But India's ability to project its influence in the area is severely constrained by ideological factors, domestic politics, and longstanding patterns of alignment and rivalry. This article explores India's contemporary security relationships with the gulf in light of these structural constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses India's national defense in regards to Southeast Asia and its implications for India-ASEAN relations. The Indian Navy's promotion of maritime security in Southeast Asian waters is addressed, with focus given to the potential for conflict between India and China regarding the territorial waters of Myanmar. India's ability to balance the growth of Chinese power in the region through increased defense cooperation with ASEAN nations is then examined.

Since the end of the Cold War, India's strategic horizons have moved beyond its traditional preoccupations in South Asia. India is developing a strategic role in East Asia in particular. At the same time India's strategic thinking has undergone a revolution, as the country that prided itself on non-alignment has moved closer to the West. But India's culture, history and geography still fundamentally shape its worldview. In engaging with East Asia, India is guided by a mosaic of strategic objectives about extending its sphere of influence, developing a multipolar regional system and balancing against China. The interplay of these objectives will frame India's role in East Asia in coming years. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses foreign relations between India and Indonesia. It presents an overview of the history of their interactions, beginning in the Cold War era and extending to 21st-century diplomacy concerning the Strait of Malacca. An argument is presented that the two countries have the potential to develop an extensive partnership in terms of international security issues. The question of whether this is likely to occur rapidly or slowly is addressed, and the complementary aspects of their national interests are analyzed.

This article discusses the economic partnership that is developing between South Korea and India. The article notes that this development is unusual because of a long-standing disconnect between Korea and South Asian countries. It is also noted that the two countries are beginning to develop a political and security relationship. South Korea and India have discovered that they have much in common when it comes to national partition and dealing with conflict, and they both have uneasy relationships with China.

In recent years, India and Singapore have developed a strong bilateral security and economic partnership that has assumed a central position in India's strategic engagement in Southeast Asia. Having sought strategic engagement with India for many decades, Singapore has now successfully positioned itself as India's leading political partner and economic gateway to the region. At the same time, India and Singapore have actively pursued close defence ties, including frequent joint training and the assumption of an active maritime security role by India in Southeast Asia. The recent decision by India to allow the Singapore air force and army to operate long term training facilities on Indian territory represents a significant development in Indian strategic practice and may presage a more permanent Indian security presence in East Asia. This article will examine these developments and consider to what extent the emergent security relationship between India and Singapore should be seen as a desire to balance China's growing economic and political dominance of the region and to what extent it reflects a 'natural' strategic sphere for India stretching from Aden to Singapore and beyond into East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]