Contiguity, Connectivity and Access: The Importance of the Bay of Bengal Region in Indian Foreign Policy

Description

This volume examines themes like contemporary factors shaping the emergence of the Bay of Bengal region as a critical strategic theatre in Indian foreign policy; the inter-connectedness of the Indian and Pacific Oceans; the importance of oceans to security and commerce and India’s role within the broader region; the twenty-first century maritime Silk Road and Indian alternatives and the possibilities of reconnecting disconnected spaces through re-imagining a Bay of Bengal Community. In this connection the volume takes particular note of the emerging regional cooperative order for the promotion of peace and development in the Bay of Bengal region (BIMSTEC). The volume brings together historians, political analysts and political economists to emphasize the interconnectedness of the oceanic space through a detailed analysis of the Bay of Bengal as a space of strategic and economic significance, particularly for India, but also as a space for re-imagining a new regional community. Cover Half Title Asia in Global Affairs (AGA) Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Preface Introduction Contributors Section One: Imagining a Bay of Bengal Community: History, Literature and Diasporas Chapter 1: ‘Convergence’ across the Bay: Early Interactions and Exchanges between Regions of Eastern Sea-Board of India and Regions of Southeast Asia Chapter 2: Forging New Friendships through Oceanic Travels: Cosmopolitan and Nationalistic Ideas in Bengali Journals (late 19th and 20th centuries) Chapter 3: Locating the Bengali Revolutionaries in Burma (1923–33): As Reflected in the History and Literature of the Wider Migratory Culture of Bay of Bengal Section Two: The Contemporary Factors Shaping the Emergence of the Bay of Bengal Region as a Critical Strategic Theatre in Indian Foreign Policy Chapter 4: Projection of the ‘Bay of Bengal Initiative’ as a Strategic Endeavour: A Critical Survey Chapter 5: The Bay of Bengal as a Strategic Theatre: Trends in Narratives Chapter 6: India’s Bay of Bengal Strategy: Programme and Predicaments Section Three: The Importance of Oceans to Strategy Chapter 7: The Strategic Significance of Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Assessing Anti-Access Area Denial Potential in the Bay of Bengal Chapter 8: India’s Littoral Strategy in the Indo-Pacific Region: Partnership and Beyond Chapter 9: Piracy and Armed Robbery in Indian Ocean Region: Assessment, Challenges and the Way Forward Section Four: Globalisation, Regionalism, and Indian Alternatives Chapter 10: Globalisation, Asian Regionalism and BIMSTEC: An International Political Economy Perspective Chapter 11: The Bay of Bengal and the Politics of Strategic Geographies Chapter 12: Power Projection in the Bay of Bengal: Comparing India and China’s Naval Strategies