David Brewster’s write-up is of significant relevance with dynamics of powers including trade, international relations and strategic socio-economic development in the Indian Ocean since its early stage. The Indian Ocean region has become more important than ever as a highway for trade and economic power. The region is also home to many poor countries, including a large proportion of the world’s fragile or failed states. The region of the Indian Ocean is covered on almost three sides with a handful of narrow entries and exits, called choke point, to and from adjacent water including Strait of Hormuz, which joins the Ocean with the Persian Gulf and Strait of Malacca. The region is incredibly significant for trade, communication and security issues. This ocean has been most important for trade between Asia and Gulf countries with a deeply rooted historicity and a gradual enhanced trade volume; particularly the last century witnessed a significant volume trade with Europe and other countries. In the last 500 years, the Indian Ocean has been dominated by a succession of European countries, USA and China. The Indian Ocean was first discovered in 1498 by Vasco da Gama (Portugal) from Cape of Good Hope to the states of India for adventure and imperialist purpose. Later the Portuguese controlled all entry points of the Indian Ocean like Port of Malacca, Mozambique channel and several bases in Mombasa in East Africa, Goa in India and Colombo in Sri Lanka. With the strategic entry of Britain as a global maritime power, particularly in the Indian Ocean, their central focus was to trade as well as on their industrial requirement.

The present book is important for three reasons. First, an encompassing coverage of all stakeholders in order to explain power and trade relations in the Indian Ocean region with fathomless history is presented; secondly, this is a very insightful empirical approach to explore the strategic relations with the help of a large amount of empirical literature sources and studies at the end of each chapter, which provided a significant resource on the theme; third but not last, it has been written with an excellent structure and well-knit expressions – maps,  and in a simple language. This attracts many readers ranging from lower graduates to higher researchers. 

In this book, David Brewster assesses India’s role as a major power in the Indian Ocean. Three sides of India being coated by the Indian Ocean by a large part, it naturally holds a stake in the Ocean, however, he pointed out existing constraints from other national interests and emerging economic powers. Brewster has written extensively on India’s strategic relations and the author of India as Asia Pacific Power shows the linkages in Pacific powers and the increasing role of the the Indian Ocean not only in South Asia. This book analytically examines diverse perspectives of India as an Indian Ocean power comprising separate chapters each - the shifting balance of power in the Indian Ocean; Indian Strategic Thinking About the India Ocean; Maritime South Asia; The Southwest Indian Ocean, East and Southern Africa, The Northwest Indian Ocean, The Northeast Indian Ocean, Australia, The United States, China and last chapter ‘India as an Indian Ocean Power’. These entire chapters explore the strategic relations of the Indian Ocean in-depth. The author analysed deeply the maritime historicity and changing contestants.

Historians reveal that waterways played the most important role for the development of civilisation, people first came into contact with one another by ocean and river, and how goods, languages, religions, and entire cultures spread across and along the world's waterways. The Indian Ocean is one of them, whose records have not been maintained. With the modern maritime European adventures, the Dutch played a significant imprint followed by the British, the French and others. However, the decreasing Dutch predominance was later occupied by British imperialist who gained control over the Indian Ocean, including northwest region (Arabian Sea) and northeast region (Bay of Bengal). David Brewster analysed the trade and security relationship in these regions extensively and claimed that the northwest quadrant of the Indian Ocean is critical to India. With changing times, the thrust towards access to energy is the most vital strategic concern with other issues like, terrorism and piracy, particularly in the northwest region. British imperialist dominance in northwest Indian Ocean had twin objectives - first to protect their security of the sea lanes between Britain and India and to check attempts by continental powers to develop through land access routes to the Indian Ocean from Russia to the Gulf regions. In the early twentieth century, the British Indian government further hoped to consolidate control over the Gulf by the Indian colonisation process including Mesopotamian (present Iraq). However, the post-independence era changed the trade and strategic relations in this region with Gulf and Central Asia. The high potential relationship with Iran in the Persian Gulf enhanced the strength in the northwest of the Indian Ocean. The author also delineated the ‘northeast of the Indian Ocean’ in a separate chapter with India’s leading security role in that region including Malacca Strait through its territory Andaman and Nicobar Islands and extended engagement towards archipelagic Southeast Asia. Brewster also examined India’s role towards the ‘Look East policy’ after the Cold War, multilateral ASEAN- India free trade agreement with Singapore and Malaysia, established BIMSTEC grouping in 1997 to promote technical and economic cooperation including Thailand, Malaysia and Myanmar. Before this, India joined ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in 1996 and enhanced its presence both in multilateral and bilateral relations in the region.

China is the key player in India’s strategic aspiration in the region. The author pointed out that China’s overwhelming strategic imperative in the Indian Ocean is a means of protection of its sea lines for communication, particularly the transport of energy to China through the Malacca Strait, which contributes almost 82 percent of China’s oil pass. In order to continue the economic development and the emerging need of energy interest, this region is very significant. It also demonstrates that India’s bilateral relationship with China also remains volatile, friction and tension ridden. That has been proved through numerous unresolved strategic issues between India and China like border disputes in the Himalayas, de-facto alliance with Pakistan as well as in South Asia. Rivalry between the two nations linked with various issues of which some are mentioned above. On top of this, Beijing has openly and firmly expressed its opposition to India’s aspiration in Indian Ocean and shows China as the most vulnerable to India.  The book discusses China’s growing power in the reflected through several ways- firstly, its developing capabilities to project limited naval and air power in the Indian Ocean; secondly, the considerable developing economic influence with littoral states, but with only a very limited security presence; thirdly and most importantly, the  reduction of its vulnerability by diversifying energy transport option in the region often viewed as a serious threat to other small players and their global interest.

The role of the United States military power is dominant in the world and has been playing a key role in international relations for a long period. It has a deeply rooted democracy and strong economy that will continue to main in the upcoming decades. With growing power of India and China the U.S.’s strength has slightly decreased but does it still play a significant role in economy, polity and international energy quest? As far as the Indian Ocean is concerned, the threat of China is also perceived by the United States in the western Pacific region and East Asia. After the cold war the increasing military power and economic changes of China, the US has felt threatened and identified India as a strategic partner in the Indian Ocean. The evolving US strategy is to make India a regional counterweight emerging China’s vulnerability. Furthermore, major stakeholders of the Indian Ocean should take the collaborative responsibility with India, including Australia and Indonesia. In this regard, the United States had encouraged the expansion of India’s naval ambition and capabilities in the Indian Ocean and outside of it. This is encouraging them to become the regional leader in the region. US –India naval cooperation and military exercise on several platforms strengthen the strategic cooperation not only in the Indian Ocean region but also at multilateral cooperation such as UAV, a global hawk operated by key partners such as Australia, Japan and Singapore. 

In conclusion, the contents of this book discuses diverse regional aspirations and capabilities in the Indian Ocean. India as a natural regional command, with both land and maritime presence in South Asia, has legitimised its role as major power and influence in the region despite the difference with Chinese interest as a global superpower and other stakeholders considering their stake in the region. The emerging threats of China further strengthen the presence of India such in the technical and health support provided by India. India has played a key role during the Corona pandemic and provided free support airlifted from Wuhan (China) such as emergency medicines, free Indian vaccines in the Indian Ocean region including Pakistan.