India's defense strategy and the India-ASEAN relationship

India's defense strategy toward Southeast Asia can be understood in terms of two broad sets of strategic objectives that together drive India's relationships in the region. These include its ambitions to be the predominant power in the northeast Indian Ocean and a broader objective to assume a greater strategic role in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. India's aspirations to increase its defense presence in the region are broadly consistent with the perspectives of many ASEAN states, which mostly see India as a positive factor in the Southeast Asian balance of power. But India is yet to demonstrate itself as a useful and consistent security partner for much of the region. India is hindered by a lack of strategic focus and planning that is consistent with many of its strategic relationships.