Commentary
Malaysia’s chairmanship sought to fend off short-term challenges while laying the groundwork for minimizing ASEAN’s longer-term exposure to external stresses.
Elina Noor
Book
India’s Naval Strategy and Asian Security
Delhi’s expanding economic and military strength has generated a widespread debate on India’s prospects for shaping the balance of power in Asia.
Published on Jan 18, 2016
Source: Routledge
This book, edited by C. Raja Mohan and Anit Mukherjee, examines India’s naval strategy within the context of Asian regional security.
Amidst the intensifying geopolitical contestation in the waters of Asia, this book investigates the growing strategic salience of the Indian Navy. Delhi’s expanding economic and military strength has generated a widespread debate on India’s prospects for shaping the balance of power in Asia. This volume provides much needed texture to the abstract debate on India’s rise by focusing on the changing nature of India’s maritime orientation, the recent evolution of its naval strategy, and its emerging defence diplomacy.
In tracing the drift of the Navy from the margins of Delhi’s national security consciousness to a central position, analysing the tension between its maritime possibilities and the continentalist mind set, and in examining the gap between the growing external demands for its security contributions and internal ambivalence, this volume offers rare insights into India’s strategic direction at a critical moment in the nation’s evolution. By examining the internal and external dimensions of the Indian naval future, both of which are in dynamic flux, the essays here help a deeper understanding of India’s changing international possibilities and its impact on Asian and global security.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Anit Mukherjee and C. Raja Mohan
Part I: The Making of India’s Naval Strategy
India’s Maritime Strategy
Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan
Tomorrow or Yesterday’s Fleet? The Indian Navy’s Operational Challenges
Iskander Luke Rehman
In the Far Seas: Projecting India’s Naval Power
Abhijit Singh
The Unsinkable Aircraft Carrier: The Andaman and Nicobar Command
Anit Mukherjee
India’s Naval Diplomacy: the Unfinished Transitions
C. Raja Mohan
Part II: The External Dimensions of India’s Naval Strategy
India in the US Naval Strategy
Timothy D. Hoyt
“New Normal” in the Indo-Pacific: Sino-Indian Maritime Security Dilemma
Koh Swee Lean Collin
Looming Over the Horizon: Japan’s Naval Engagement with India
Tomoko Kiyota
A Sea of Opportunity: Southeast Asia’s Growing Naval Cooperation with India
Ristian Atriandi Supriyanto
India and Regional Maritime Security
Sam Bateman
India’s Naval Moment
Anit Mukherjee and C. Raja Mohan
About the Authors
C. Raja Mohan
Former Nonresident Senior Fellow, Carnegie India
A leading analyst of India’s foreign policy, Mohan is also an expert on South Asian security, great-power relations in Asia, and arms control.
Anit Mukherjee
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie China
- Malaysia’s Year as ASEAN Chair: Managing Disorder
- When It Comes to Superpower Geopolitics, Malaysia Is Staunchly NonpartisanCommentary
For Malaysia, the conjunction that works is “and” not “or” when it comes to the United States and China.
Elina Noor
- Neither Comrade nor Ally: Decoding Vietnam’s First Army Drill with ChinaCommentary
In July 2025, Vietnam and China held their first joint army drill, a modest but symbolic move reflecting Hanoi’s strategic hedging amid U.S.–China rivalry.
Nguyễn Khắc Giang
- China’s Mediation Offer in the Thailand-Cambodia Border Dispute Sheds Light on Beijing’s Security Role in Southeast AsiaCommentary
The Thai-Cambodian conflict highlights the limits to China's peacemaker ambition and the significance of this role on Southeast Asia’s balance of power.
Pongphisoot (Paul) Busbarat
- How to Predict China’s Economic Performance for 2025: A Sectoral ApproachCommentary
GDP growth means something fundamentally different in China than in most countries.
Michael Pettis
