India and US Maritime Strategic Cooperation, Challenges and Prospects

Abstract

In 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the bipolar world, major changes took place at the international level. In the wake of these changes, India and the US had to re-adjust their policies and relations that led to cordinal India-US relations. Maritime relations were not immune to these winds of change. In the maritime domain India has adopted a different attitude towards the US presence in the Indian Ocean as compared to the Cold War period. The United States has also recognized India as a major security provider in the Indian Ocean Region as the Indian Navy is the largest force in the region. Through the maritime cooperation a secure and stable environment would be guaranteed in the Indian Ocean region, which is the stated aim of both the countries. In this regard, this paper tries to analyse India-US maritime relations during the Cold War era as well as the post-Cold War period.

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