There is also a strong economic and political logic to spotlighting the Indian Ocean as a key emerging region in world affairs.
In
recent days, Australia’s foreign minister Marise Payne announced
efforts to strengthen Australia’s involvement in the Indian Ocean
region, and the importance of working with India in defence and other
activities. Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue in Delhi – a
geopolitical conference co-hosted by the Indian government – Payne
said:
Our
respective futures are intertwined and heavily dependent on how well
we cooperate on the challenges and opportunities in the Indian
Ocean in the decades ahead.
Among
Payne’s announcements was A$25 million for a four-year
infrastructure program in South Asia (The South Asia Regional
Infrastructure Connectivity initiative, or SARIC), which will
primarily focus on the transport and energy sectors.
She
also pointed to increasing defence activities in the Indian Ocean,
noting that in 2014, Australia and India had conducted 11 defence
activities together, with the figure reaching 38 in 2018.(Business
Standard)
Payne’s
speech highlights the emergent power of the Indian Ocean region in
world affairs. The region comprises the ocean itself and the
countries that border it. These include Australia, India, Indonesia,
Bangladesh, Madagascar, Somalia, Tanzania, South Africa, the United
Arab Emirates and Yemen.
In
terms of global political significance, the Atlantic
Ocean can be viewed as the ocean of our grandparents and parents;
the Pacific Ocean as the ocean of us and our children; and the Indian
Ocean as the ocean of our children and grandchildren.
There
is an obvious sense in which the region is the future. The average
age of people in the region’s countries is under 30, compared to 38
in the US and 46 in Japan. The countries bordering the Indian Ocean
are home to 2.5 billion people, which is one-third of the world’s
population.
But
there is also a strong economic and political logic to spotlighting
the Indian Ocean as a key emerging region in world affairs and
strategic priority for Australia.
Some
80% of the world’s maritime oil trade flows through three narrow
passages of water, known as choke points, in the Indian Ocean. This
includes the Strait of Hormuz – located between the Persian Gulf
and the Gulf of Oman – which provides the only sea passage from the
Persian Gulf to the open ocean.
The
economies of many Indian Ocean countries are expanding rapidly as
investors seek new opportunities. Bangladesh, India, Malaysia and
Tanzania witnessed economic growth in excess of 5% in 2017 – well
above the global average of 3.2%.
India
is the fastest growing major economy in the world. With a population
expected to become the world’s largest in the coming decades, it is
also the one with the most potential.
