Introduction

India’s maritime policy has never been merely a matter of naval deployments or port development. It is deeply rooted in the country’s geography, history, and civilisational engagement with the seas, especially the centrality of the Indian Ocean. As a peninsula projecting into one of the world’s most strategically significant maritime spaces, India’s security, trade, energy flows, and regional influence are inseparable from the oceans around it. In recent years, shifts in global geopolitics, the rise of the Indo-Pacific as a strategic theatre, the growing salience of maritime trade and energy routes, and concerns over regional stability have all pushed India to rethink and strengthen its maritime outlook. What is emerging is a more comprehensive and integrated maritime policy that links security, diplomacy, economics, and technology.

Historical Evolution of India’s Maritime Consciousness

• India’s engagement with the seas dates back to ancient and medieval times.

• The maritime exploits of the Cholas, the flourishing Indo-Arab trade networks, and later interactions with European powers all testify to a long-standing maritime tradition.

• The Indian Ocean historically served as:

  • A highway for trade

  • A medium for cultural and civilisational exchange

  • A space that shaped India’s strategic environment

• After Independence, leaders and thinkers, including Jawaharlal Nehru, recognised that:

  • Stability in the Indian Ocean was critical for India’s security

  • Maritime space was essential for economic well-being and external engagement

• However, the early decades of the Republic were dominated more by continental and land-centric security concerns.

The Shift in Strategic Thinking

• For a long time, India viewed the Indian Ocean largely as:

  • A transit space for trade and shipping

  • A peripheral extension of continental security

• Contemporary strategic thinking marks a clear departure from this view.

• The Indian Ocean is now seen as:

  • A strategic space in its own right

  • A region with dense human, economic, and political activity

• From around the mid-1980s, India began to:

  • Gradually move away from an inward-looking, continental security mindset

  • Embrace a more outward-looking, maritime-oriented strategic outlook

• This shift has accelerated in the 21st century with globalisation, energy dependence, and the rise of the Indo-Pacific.

India’s Maritime Strategy Today

• India has significantly expanded its maritime engagement with both regional and extra-regional powers, including:

  • Australia

  • Japan

  • France

  • ASEAN countries

  • Neighbouring maritime states such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh

• Key areas of focus include:

  • Securing Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs), which are vital for trade and energy imports

  • Concluding maritime boundary agreements with neighbours, a process in which India has been largely successful

  • Strengthening naval diplomacy through exercises, port calls, and capacity-building initiatives

• The role of the Indian Navy has evolved:

  • From a largely defensive and observer-oriented force

  • To a net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region, particularly evident in sustained anti-piracy operations and maritime security patrols

The Regional and Indo-Pacific Dimension

• The Indo-Pacific has now become the central organising concept of India’s maritime vision.

• India’s approach to the Indo-Pacific emphasises:

  • Maritime multilateralism

  • Cooperation with like-minded partners

  • An inclusive and rules-based regional order

• At the same time, India seeks to:

  • Avoid a zero-sum or purely confrontational framework, especially in relation to China

• A key concern is the:

  • Weak maritime governance capacity in several neighbouring and regional states

  • This weakness often stems from:

    • Corruption

    • Poor leadership

    • External influence and debt-related vulnerabilities, including risks associated with infrastructure projects under initiatives like the Belt and Road

• Strengthening regional capacity and resilience has therefore become an important pillar of India’s maritime engagement.

Power Projection and Security as Stability

• India has increasingly demonstrated its maritime capabilities through:

  • Anti-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden and beyond

  • Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations in the Indian Ocean Region

  • Regular presence missions that signal commitment to regional security

• This use of naval power is:

  • Less about coercion

  • More about reassurance, stability, and public goods provision

• In this sense, India’s maritime posture is evolving into one that:

  • Supports regional order

  • Enhances trust

  • Reinforces India’s image as a responsible maritime power

Emerging Focus Areas in India’s Maritime Policy

• India’s maritime thinking is no longer limited to ships and bases.

• New and expanding areas of focus include:

  • Maritime institutions and governance frameworks

  • Underwater Domain Awareness (UDA), crucial for both security and resource management

  • The Blue Economy, which emphasises sustainable use of ocean resources for growth and livelihoods

  • Climate resilience and coastal security, especially in the face of rising sea levels and extreme weather events

  • Integration of technology, maritime infrastructure, and economic strategy, including ports, logistics, and digital systems

Challenges Ahead

• India’s maritime policy faces several complex challenges:

  • Managing strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific without triggering escalation

  • Balancing relations with multiple major powers whose interests may not always align

  • Ensuring that smaller regional states develop adequate maritime governance and security capacity

  • Integrating economic, technological, environmental, and security objectives into a coherent and unified strategy

• These challenges require not just naval strength, but also diplomatic finesse and institutional coordination.

 Way Forward

• India needs to:

  • Continually refine its Indo-Pacific strategy in response to shifting global and regional geopolitics

  • Deepen maritime partnerships based on political trust and economic convergence, not just tactical alignment

  • Invest more systematically in:

    • Maritime technology

    • Port and coastal infrastructure

    • Institutional capacity for governance and coordination

• Most importantly, maritime policy must be treated:

  • Not as a peripheral or sectoral concern

  • But as a core pillar of national strategy that links security, economy, diplomacy, and sustainability

Conclusion

India’s maritime policy has travelled a long way—from a largely land-centric and inward-looking approach to a more confident, outward-oriented, and integrated maritime vision. The seas around India are no longer seen merely as routes of transit, but as strategic spaces that shape the country’s security, prosperity, and global role. As the Indo-Pacific becomes the centre of gravity of world politics and economics, India’s ability to think and act as a major maritime power will be crucial. The challenge now is to consolidate these gains, address emerging risks, and ensure that maritime policy remains a central and enduring pillar of India’s national strategy in the decades to come.