Maritime order and connectivity in the Indian Ocean: the renewed significance of the Bay of Bengal (original) (raw)
Related papers
Positioning the Bay of Bengal in the Great Game of the Indo-Pacific Fulcrum
Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs , 2022
As it has across the entire Indo-Pacific, geopolitical competition has intensified in the Bay of Bengal. There is, indeed, a competition between and among major powers; India competes with China, US-led allies challenge China’s assertiveness, and the Bay of Bengal—situated at the intersection between South and Southeast Asia—is a divider, a connector, and a battleground. To set out the trajectory, this article starts by identifying the strategic geography of the Bay of Bengal in the Indo-Pacific fulcrum, one prism through which to view the evolving international relations of the region. In doing so, the article discusses the factors that drive the evolving significance of the Bay for its littoral states and great powers. Then the focus shifts toward another prism—the nontraditional security issues including economy, ecology, and connectivity, which are of deep interest to all the littoral states. These factors can drive cooperation. This review of the hard and soft elements of the strategic environment of the Bay of Bengal suggests strong cohesion of the regional states is the key to mutual prosperity. But can this be achieved when the forces of division have become so much greater?
Geostrategic Significance of the Bay of Bengal in India's Maritime Security Discourse
Journal of Territorial and Maritime Studies, 2022
Article Type: Research Paper Purpose-In the Indian Ocean Region, the Bay of Bengal is re-emerging economically and strategically. The region has become a theater of strategic power play due to its strategic relevance, the presence of critical SLOCs, and the strong economic prospects of several adjoining states. India is the region's largest naval power, and it strives to maintain a rule-based maritime order. In this regard, this research aims to investigate possible strategies for India for becoming a regional net security provider. Design, Methodology, Approach-The content analysis approach has been used to prepare the paper. Findings-As key forces in the region fight for strategic and economic initiatives, the Bay of Bengal's strategic importance will only increase. As a result of these advantages, rival states' naval capabilities and presence in the Indo-Pacific will be enhanced. Along with a pervasive sense of competitiveness in the region, there are more opportunities for friendly nations to collaborate. India must be willing to try new things and let go of old inhibitions when it is needed. It must pursue principles like burden-sharing and fully utilize the friendly navies eager to assist India's position in the area. India would have to manage its relations with China as it continues to construct a bay community. The Sino-Indian dynamic will have a profound impact on the region's growing security architecture in the maritime sphere. India must work on building trust, strengthening, and diversifying its engagement with partner countries, and continue its HADR role to further calibrate its position in the region. By strengthening its engagements, India would be able to shift from a reactive to a proactive policy. Practical Implications-This paper argues that India may consolidate its influence 48 Journal of Territorial and Maritime Studies, Summer/Fall 2022 and position in the Bay of Bengal area through concentrated efforts to cooperate with like-minded partners, further enhancing its maritime diplomacy through the use of soft and hard power, and effective coordination with BIMSTEC.
South Asian Survey, 2018
Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea (BoBAS) constitutes a single economically integrated region. Though for the strategic purpose, India looks at Bay of Bengal (BoB) separated from the Andaman Sea (AS). Since 2000, India has been making an effort to integrate its northeastern region to the vibrant economies in Southeast Asia. In this context, BoBAS becomes significant to emerge as an economically integrated region that has the potential for growth. Most of the countries, except for Myanmar, have witnessed 6-8 per cent growth for the past 10 years. They face similar maritime security threats, issues of terrorism and drug trafficking. Over the past few years, the countries of the region have invested on establishing connectivity network and are ready to cooperate on blue economy as a part of sustainable development. Several bilateral and multilateral cooperations that exist suggests that the region will emerge as an integrated economic and security zone in the future.
Bay of Bengal as a Microcosmic Model for Law of the Sea in the Indian Ocean
Independent University, Bangladesh , 2022
This paper examines the Bay of Bengal as a model for law of the sea in the Indian Ocean when considering the interest of an open Indo-Pacific for the connectivity of its maritime waterways. The Bay of Bengal region is an understudied maritime basin of the wider Indo-Pacific region and deserves greater attention for its development toward stability and legal order. The paper begins by considering the wider context of the international legal order in the Indo-Pacific. Next, the Bay of Bengal will be examined as a model in the Indian Ocean for its progress toward, and success in maintaining, law of the sea in the wider Indian Ocean. Third, the role of Bangladesh in contributing to this success will be studied, including how Bangladesh’s partnership with the United States helps advance stability in the Bay of Bengal. Finally, the paper will consider the way forward for the Bay of Bengal in advancing legal norms at sea and stability across the Indo-Pacific region.
The Re-Emergence of the Bay of Bengal
Journal of Territorial and Maritime Studies, 2020
The Bay of Bengal has been a fractured region since the weakening of imperialism due to fear of re-colonization, lack of trust, historical baggage and inward orientation. Due to the rise of China and India, the Bay has once again become an arena of activities forcing littoral states to engage in a number of sub-regional groupings with BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) as the only intra-regional grouping between South Asia and Southeast Asia. The paper explores if BIMSTEC can actually help the Bay to re-emerge as the "center of activities" and the possible "route to course" for such a re-emergence. Design, Methodology, Approach-Using a comparative approach, the author looks at various groupings in this region in general, and BIMSTEC in particular, as a medium to help the Bay to achieve its lost unity and identity.
Is the Bay of Bengal regaining its lost importance?
JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN OCEAN REGION, 2019
The Bay of Bengal was important for world trade till the close of the nineteenth century. Weakening imperialism and the newly found independence by nations brought mistrust and weakened the bond of cohesiveness and unity, making the Bay to lose its identity. This was extenuated by the creation of regional identities of ‘Southeast Asia’ and ‘South Asia’. While Southeast Asia restored their unity under ASEAN in 1965 and South Asia under SAARC in 1985, no real effort to revitalize the entire swath of the Bay as one entity was made until the initiation of India’s ‘Look East’ policy in 1991 and later the formation of BIMSTEC in 1997. In the new millennium, the rise of China and India and their interest and focus on this region, has brought about forced cooperation, connectivity and conflict forcing bilateral, multilateral, regional and sub-regional agreements by littoral states. This has led the Bay to acquire an importance that cannot be ignored. The paper evaluates these efforts to decipher if the Bay of Bengal is really regaining its lost importance.
2018
Owing to the increased commitment from India, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) has experienced a revival since 2016. Firstly, India is hoping to be able to develop better the country’s hard-to-reach northeast by intensifying regional cooperation. Secondly, given the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) investments in neighbouring countries, it aims to reinforce its claim to leadership in the region. From an international perspective, BIMSTEC is an essential building block in India’s Act East policy in the context of the renewed importance of the Indo-Pacific region. With the support of BIMSTEC, Germany and the European Union (EU) can deepen their strategic partnership with India whilst simultaneously increasing their visibility in the Bay of Bengal.
Journal article, 2019
The paper analyses Bangladesh-India maritime connectivity in the Bay of Bengal region from a Bangladesh perspective. It aims at contributing to emerging literature on policy studies on maritime issues. It argues that to a larger extent, stability, prosperity and progress of Bangladesh depend on exploring and exploiting her untapped marine resources in the Bay of Bengal region. More than 90 per cent of Bangladesh's trade takes place through the sea. At the same time, there are growing maritime issues and concerns in the Bay of Bengal region that Bangladesh and India can jointly address. Consequently, the paper argues that it is of paramount interest for both Bangladesh and India to deepen their bilateral maritime connectivity in order to promote maritime cooperation. Areas and possibilities of maritime connectivity are visible from blue economy to joint research promotion. However, that connectivity needs to be based on reciprocity and mutual respect, but not on a zero sum pattern.
India's New Geopolitical Paradigm and Reintegration of the Bay of Bengal
The 'Look East' Policy (LEP) is usually identified as the beginning of an effort by India to build relations with its eastern neighbours lying on the other side of the Bay of Bengal rim. Following the LEP, the Bay of Bengal has been witnessing a process of economic, political and cultural reintegration. Historical analysis, however, reveals that, in the pre-colonial era, the Bay used to be a circular space, interconnected by movements of goods, people and ideas. As a consequence of colonialism, this interconnectedness was altered, a sense of otherness developed among the rim nations, while India consolidated a foreign policy focused on the territorial rather than the maritime dimension of the space. This paper adopts an inter-disciplinary approach (bridging history, international relations and foreign policy analysis) in a reconstruction and reassessment of the transformation of the Bay of Bengal from a unitary to a fragmented space, as well as of India's interaction with the same.
Yearbook of Strategic and Security Studies, 2022
To face the challenges of the 21st century, most of the littoral states are focusing on maritime security for better economic opportunities. Their geo-economic and strategic policies are shifting from land to the sea. The maritime domain has become a ‘site’ for economic and strategic development for the South Asian littoral states in recent decades. As maritime nations, India and Bangladesh are also moving towards the ocean-centric future. The fast-changing geo-political scenario in South Asia and the rise of China in the Indo-Pacific region have brought the significance of maritime cooperation and regional connectivity among the littorals of the Bay of Bengal (BoB). The objective of this paper is to reflect on maritime security and exploring common interests of India and Bangladesh in the BoB to find the prospective avenues on maritime cooperation and connectivity for shared growth. The study accordingly focuses on the blue economy for socio-economic progress, and strategic partnership for maritime security in the BoB. The paper delineates the possible impacts of climate change on the coastal communities in the region, where India and Bangladesh are facing common threats. It is argued that timely action and mutual cooperation can reduce the vulnerability of coastal communities