A strategy for the seas: Why India has to get its maritime power going

With Chinese warships maintaining a near-permanent presence in the Indian Ocean, India needs to beef up its navy and become a key player in the region

The term Indo-Pacific has now become a key strategic term in our part of the world, albeit with different interpretations by the players concerned. For US President Donald Trump it is a geopolitical entity which extends from the east coast of India to the western Pacific. For Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it is a region stretching from the east coast of Africa to the US coast itself. For some, it is the erstwhile Asia-Pacific now extended westwards; for most Asean countries, it is essentially their area with the South China Sea thrown in.

For China, it is something which does