‘Indian Ocean a geological hotspot’

Chandigarh, July 2

The Department of Defence and National Security Studies, Panjab University, organised a lecture on ‘Importance of the Indian Ocean region in world politics’ by Vice Admiral HS Malhi (Retd), AVSM, VSM, Former Fleet Engineer Officer of the Western Fleet of the Indian Navy, at the department here today.

Malhi explained the significance of the Indian Ocean and challenges posed by the increasing presence of China in the region. He said it is the third largest ocean in the world with 2.6 billion littoral states’ population. It connects Africa to the east Asia through the south Asia. “A majority of the oil and trade supplies of the world passes through the sea lanes of communication (SLOC) of this ocean. This region would remain the geopolitical hotspot of the 21st century,” he said. He mentioned famous naval strategist Alfred Mahan who had said that whosoever controlled the Indian Ocean would control the Asian continent.

All major world powers — Portuguese, Dutch, British and now the US — controlled all strategic points in the ocean to control trade across the globe.

He said India adopted a continental approach after its independence because a majority of foreign invasion it faced was via land border not through the sea. It did not aspire to be the regional power and pursued a policy of non-alignment. It recognised the importance of the region in 1970s. In the 1980s, India showed its involvements in countries such as Mauritius, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Maldives. — TNS