India’s Naval and Maritime Power

Abstract

India faces a host of emerging strategic challenges in the maritime domain —at sea, along its vast coastline, and along the wider Indian Ocean littoral. This domain is unique from the air and land domains for India because it is not primarily focused on defense of the homeland. While the Indian Army and Air Force play important roles beyond national borders such as in peacekeeping and disaster-relief operations, these are not their primary missions. By contrast, naval operations tend to take place in the high seas, far from home. Higher-end navies such as the Indian Navy are often tasked with projecting power, including in peacetime, and ensuring the security of shipping through international waters for national economic interests.2 In the past 15 years, events such as the Indian Ocean tsunami (2004) and the terrorist attacks on Mumbai (2008) have transformed how India thinks about the use of its navy. The Indian Navy’s overall responsibility has expanded to encompass the entire domain of maritime security, including coastal security, which has traditionally been the responsibility of the Indian Coast Guard.3 Yet India faces challenges in executing this vision due to bureaucratic and operational obstacles. Chinese commercial infrastructure