Growing importance of the Indian Ocean in Post‐Cold War Era and its implication for India

Abstract With the beginning of Operation ‘Enduring Freedom’, the Indian Ocean region became all the more important in the free market world as the new silk route passes through it. The discovery of oil and natural gas in the Caspian Sea induced intense competition, making this region a dangerous potential flash point of global significance. The Indian Ocean has been of distinct strategic, economic and ecological value for India. Peninsular India needs to exploit its oceanic opportunities to emerge as a nation whose global relevance is commensurate with its size.