India and the Gulf After Saddam
Abstract
Both necessity and ambition fueled by opportunity drive India's efforts to cut a figure in the Persian Gulf region. Four million Indians reside in the area and send valuable remittances home to their kinsmen, making them both hostages of the local security situation and also a sign of India's rising interest in the Gulf. This rising interest takes place in a context dominated by three interacting and profound strategic trends: India's rise as a major Asian power with continental aspirations, American dominance of the Gulf, and the visible Indo-American strategic partnership. In that context India is determined to prevent any maritime or landward threat to it from the Gulf. Indeed, following Ashley Tellis' analysis in 2001-02, we can state that for India, the Middle East and the Persian Gulf constitutes a vast strategic buffer, an outer ring, if you will, that cannot be allowed to become a base from which policies inimical to India's interests and security can be pursued with impunity. Because India must engage states in this area intimately to forestall such negative trends, India has confronted and robustly counters the related threats of terrorism, proliferation and the export of radicalized Islam.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA524589
Entities
People
- Stephen Blank
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School