Darshana M. Baruah’s Contest for the Indian Ocean and the Making of a New World Order explores 21st-century Indian Ocean geopolitics, focusing on trade, political power shifts and maritime security. While it unpacks US-China rivalry in the region, the book foregrounds the underexplored agency of island nations, making it a valuable and original intervention in the scholarship, writes Jitendra Sharma.
In an era marked by escalating Great Power competition, Darshana M. Baruah’s Contest for the Indian Ocean and the Making of a New World Order offers a timely and compelling exploration of the 21st-century geopolitics of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). While earlier scholarship, such as David Brewster’s analysis of power dynamics in the Indian Ocean or Robert Kaplan’s Monsoon, has mapped the strategic landscape of the IOR, Baruah’s intervention stands out in its focus on island nations’ agency and the technological transformation of maritime security domains.
US-China rivalry and strategic shifts
Baruah begins by establishing the relationship between geography and geopolitics against the backdrop of the US-China competition. China’s rise prompted the United States to reorient its strategic focus, leading to the Obama administration’s “Pivot to Asia.” This shift gradually evolved into the Indo-Pacific framework to contain China, which has placed maritime security at the core of foreign policy in the 21st century. Baruah argues that “the Indian Ocean region is the vital theatre for competition within the Indo-Pacific construct” (3). She advocates for re-examining the Indian Ocean as a unified strategic space, pushing for adopting a maritime approach, deserting the continental silo perspective.
Drawing on historical examples such as WWII disruptions of sea lines of communication (SLOC), Baruah highlights the enduring importance of maritime chokepoints. China is acutely aware of its vulnerabilities in the Indian Ocean, through which 80 per cent of its energy imports and substantial trade pass. To mitigate this, Beijing views a continued presence in the region as vital for securing economic growth, energy routes, and its expanding global role. Baruah warns, “A second Indian Ocean base from Beijing is simply a matter of time” (66), and argues that China’s Djibouti facility should be seen as an Indian Ocean base, not merely an African one.
The US military base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean was established during the Cold War under the “strategic island concept,” which aimed to set up military installations on remote islands to counter its rivals. It remains a critical asset for maintaining operational reach, intelligence gathering, maritime surveillance, and power projection most recently demonstrated in US-led operations against the Red Sea blockade by Yemen.
One of the book’s standout sections highlights the agency of island nations in shaping US-China competition in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
Baruah argues that the United States must reassess its strategic posture in the Indian Ocean in light of the evolving geopolitical dynamics in the 21st century. Meanwhile, China has become the leading trade partner of littoral states by establishing embassies in all six island nations and launching the China-Indian Ocean Region Forum in 2022. China’s expanding footprint in the region reflects a nuanced understanding of contemporary global realities marked by multipolarity, economic interdependence, and alignments grounded in pragmatism and mutual benefit.
Island nations as key players in the region
One of the book’s standout sections highlights the agency of island nations in shaping US-China competition in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). Negligence and complacency by traditional partners such as the US, UK, France and India induced a diplomatic standstill and strategic void in littorals in IOR. However, China’s proactive engagement has provided island states with an opportunity to forge independent partnerships, bolster their sovereignty and security, and simultaneously benefit Beijing in addressing its vulnerabilities in the Indian Ocean.
Island nations have welcomed China’s investments in infrastructure and capacity-building, which address critical sovereignty and security concerns. Through interviews with representatives of these states, Baruah challenges the narrative of “debt-trap diplomacy,” arguing that such claims undermine the sovereign agency of these nations. Moreover, representatives of island nations express scepticism about the sincerity of initiatives launched by traditional powers, viewing them not as efforts to meet the needs of island nations but as reactive geopolitical manoeuvres aimed at China.
Baruah suggests a two-pronged island approach to compete with China in the IOR. First, it is imperative to recognise the sovereignty of island nations and prioritise their needs rather than treat them as pawns in a larger geopolitical chessboard. Second, she advocates for traditional powers to strategically utilise their island territories to advance military and security objectives.
Technological advancements in deep-sea research – whether for ecological, scientific, or commercial purposes – carry significant military implications, such as seabed mapping, extraction of critical minerals, and anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
However, the strategic value of islands and maritime security has remained at the periphery of Indian defence and strategic circles. A lack of imminent maritime threat, coupled with resource constraints, has led to a defensive outlook toward strategic assets like the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI). Baruah argues that ANI’s strategic location offers significant potential to transform it into a pivotal hub for maritime security. Expanding its role beyond a mere military outpost to a centre for Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA), Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), enabling India to monitor threats and movements across the Indian Ocean effectively. By investing in infrastructure development and defining ANI’s role in regional maritime security, India can leverage its strategic position to counter China’s threat and effectively shape geopolitical tussles in the Indian Ocean.
The future of maritime security and global competition
In her final chapter, Baruah seeks to assess the future of evolving geopolitical dynamics in the IOR and the role of India-China interaction in the region’s future decades. She addresses the convergence of both traditional threats affecting littorals – such as piracy and drug smuggling and non-traditional ones like climate change, illegal fishing, and the dual-use potential of civilian vessels for surveillance. The climate crisis poses a growing national security challenge for Indian Ocean littoral states, underscoring the urgent need to invest in blue economy initiatives. These initiatives aim to foster sustainable economic development, particularly in sectors such as fishing, tourism, and logistics, without compromising the health of the marine ecosystem. Island nations must leverage their strategic position to attract funding and partnerships that strengthen their capacity to adapt and thrive.
Baruah concludes by identifying the underwater domain as the next frontier of geopolitical competition. Technological advancements in deep-sea research – whether for ecological, scientific, or commercial purposes – carry significant military implications, such as seabed mapping, extraction of critical minerals, and anti-submarine warfare capabilities. Such developments raise strategic concerns, especially in the absence of comprehensive legal frameworks governing the commercialisation of the deep sea and likely to expand this uncharted domain as a new arena for future strategic rivalry.
The book offers a timely analysis of US-China geopolitical competition by centring the maritime domain and advocating for a unified geographic view of the Indian Ocean, challenging decades of continent-focused policymaking. By highlighting the strategic agency of island nations, it provides valuable insights for scholars and students of international relations, geopolitics, and maritime security, as well as policymakers engaged in Indo-Pacific strategy and regional cooperation.
- This review first appeared at LSE Review of Books.
- Featured image: Kyung Muk Lim on Shutterstock.
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- Note: This article gives the views of the reviewer, and not the position of USAPP – American Politics and Policy, nor of the London School of Economics.
