The Indian Ocean and US Grand Strategy

This book intelligently unpacks the assertion that the Indian Ocean is of central strategic importance in the 21st century. It dives into the complexities of the Indian Ocean strategic picture, insightfully assesses the changes as China and India rise, and identifies options for America's role and response. This range of expert perspectives brings out the tension at the heart of US policy in Asia in this Indo-Pacific era: How to maintain a stabilizing role when the strategic theater is expanding and America's relative capabilities are not. There is no simple answer but this book usefully underscores how partnerships will be the key. -- Rory Medcalf, director, International Security Program, Lowy Institute for International Policy

Presents a range of viewpoints about whether and how the US should alter its diplomatic and military strategies for this region. This book concludes with a comparative assessment of these options and a discussion of their implications for US policymakers.The Indian Ocean, with its critical routes for global commerce, is a potentially volatile location for geopolitical strife. Even as the region's role in the international economy and as a highway to conflict zones increases, the US has failed to advance a coherent strategy for protecting its interests in the Indian Ocean or for managing complex diplomatic relationships across the region. The Indian Ocean and US Grand Strategy presents a range of viewpoints about whether and how the US should alter its diplomatic and military strategies for this region. Contributors examine US interests in the Indian Ocean, assess the relative critical importance or imperiled nature of these interests, and propose solutions for American strategy ranging from minimal change to maximum engagement. The book concludes with a comparative assessment of these options and a discussion of their implications for US policymakers. This volume's perspectives and analysis of the Indian Ocean region will be valued by scholars and students of US foreign policy, South Asia, and security studies as well as by diplomats, military officers, and other practitioners.