Howard M Hensel - Maritime Security in the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific

Scholars and policy makers have traditionally viewed portions of the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific as separate and discrete political, economic, and military regions. In recent years, however, a variety of economic, political, and military forces have made many within the academic community, as well as a growing number of national governmental leaders, change their perceptions and recognize that these maritime expanses are one zone of global interaction. Consequently, political, military, and economic developments in one maritime region increasingly have an impact elsewhere.

Analyzing and assessing the contemporary maritime challenges in the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific, this valuable study highlights the current prospects for peace and security in what is rapidly becoming recognized as an integrated and interactive political, military-strategic, and economic environment.

This work will be of interest to researchers and policy makers involved in regional studies, as well as security studies, conflict resolution, military, and peace studies.

Howard M. Hensel is Professor of Politico-Military Affairs at the USAF Air War College, USA.

Amit Gupta is Associate Professor of International Security Studies at the USAF Air War College, USA.

An excellent and long awaited assessment of the strategic relationship between the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific. This volume includes a number of well regarded regional and security specialists and is skillfully edited.

Sheldon Simon, Professor, Politics and Global Studies, Arizona State University, USA

The maritime lines of communication in the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific have now assumed particular importance due to globalization, accompanied by the instability of the international political order. This volume of ten chapters by respected experts on the regions examines the history of and sheds new light on the contemporary importance of maritime navigation in these vital areas and should be read by specialists and interested laymen alike.

Oles M. Smolansky, Professor Emeritus, Department of International Relations, Lehigh University, USA

Edited by Howard M. Hensel and Amit Gupta

First published 2018
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ISBN: 9780415789479 (hbk)
ISBN: 9781315222745 (ebk)

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Richard A. Bitzinger: B.A., Kalamazoo College; M.A., Monterey Institute of International Studies; Senior Fellow and Coordinator, Military Transformations Program, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore

Daniel Goure: B.A., Pomona College; M.A. and Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University; Vice President, Lexington Institute, USA

Amit Gupta: B.A., Delhi University; M.A., Jawaharlal Nehru University; M.A., Australian National University; Ph.D., University of Illinois; Associate Professor of International Security Studies, USAF Air War College, USA

Robert Haddick: B.A. and M.B.A., University of Illinois; Visiting Senior Fellow, Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, Air Force Association, USA

Howard M. Hensel: B.A., Texas A&M University; M.A. and Ph.D., University of Virginia; Professor of Politico-Military Affairs, USAF Air War College, USA

Nayantara D. Hensel: B.A., M.A., and Ph.D., Harvard University; former Chief Economist, U.S. Department of the Navy, USA

Xiaobing Li: B.A., Nankai University; M.A. and Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University; Professor of History, Director, Western Pacific Institute, University of Central Oklahoma, USA

David H. Shinn: B.A., M.A., and Ph.D., George Washington University; former U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia and Burkina Faso; Adjunct Professor of International Affairs, The Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University, USA

Xiaoming Zhang: B.A., Nanjing Teachers University; M.A. and Ph.D., University of Iowa; Professor of Strategy, USAF Air War College, USA

Howard M. Hensel and Amit Gupta

The global community is becoming increasingly economically and geo-strategically interdependent with ever-accelerating momentum. Maritime avenues of communication connecting the diverse elements of the global community are central to this phenomenon, and nowhere are these maritime linkages more evident or important than those traversing the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific. More than ever, the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific regions are seen by scholars and policy makers as constituting a unified maritime commercial and geo-strategic whole. This volume seeks to analyze and assess the maritime heritage and contemporary maritime challenges confronting the global community in the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific.1

The work is divided into two principal parts. The first part focuses on the maritime heritage of the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific and is chronologically divided into the following broad time-frames: pre-1904, 19041949, 19451991, and 1991present. While highlighting the historical significance and continuing relevance of the various subregions within the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific regions, this chronological survey also highlights the gradually developing, but increasingly accelerating, maritime interconnections between subregions within the Indian Ocean basin and within the Western Pacific region, as well as the broader maritime linkages between the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific. also highlights the transformation in the focus of commercial relations with the advent of the industrial revolution, as well as the continuous interplay of rivalries among the European maritime powers, Russia/Soviet Union, Japan, and the United States. Finally, the chapters in the first part of the volume highlight the technological, communications, and transportation developments that have had a significant impact on the maritime linkages within and between the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific regions.