At ASEAN, India Charts a Course for Maritime Leadership
As regards the ship-building, trade and commerce strands in the Indo-Pacific region, nations like Japan, South Korea, Singapore. and UAE have a more robust and persuasive maritime profile than India.
Yes, India has the potential to become a credible maritime power but it is yet to be realised. Hopefully the 2026 maritime cooperation agenda with ASEAN outlined by Modi may act as the trigger but a lot of hard work and sustained all-of-government commitment are called for.
(C Uday Bhaskar is a leading expert on strategic affairs. He is currently Director, Society for Policy Studies. This is an opinion piece. All views expressed are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)