Between the Elephant and the Dragon: examining the Sino-Indian competition in the Indian Ocean

ABSTRACT The Indian Ocean has established itself at the spotlight of global geopolitics as regional and extra-regional states have set their gaze upon the region for power projection. China and India are locked in a strategic competition for dominance in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). India is the only state in the geographic space with the potential to challenge China. To achieve its interests, China has crafted a containment strategy against India in the region. China’s intentions go beyond acting as a mere counterweight to India, but its strategy is not without consequence. India has also been crafting its own containment strategy against China to limit the latter’s increasing assertive maneuvers in the Indian Ocean. This paper argues that Sino-Indian competition goes beyond balancing one another in the IOR. India and China both aim to dominate the region at the expense of each other’s influence through the concept and strategy of containment.