Strategic Balance in the Indo-Pacific Region: Challenges and Prospects

Indo-Pacific Region is combination of Asia Pacific Region (APR) and Indian Ocean Region (IOR) connected by busy straits of Malacca, Sunda, Lombok and Makassar. The region encompasses almost half of the world population, a third of the top twenty economies, world GDP and exports. It is home to an enormously populous and diverse mix of ethnicities, cultures, political systems, religions and economies. As a confluence of two busy oceans, the region is the maritime highway of the world that combines emerging markets and resources of Asia and Africa with rest of the world. The Indo Pacific Region is the canvas of global power shift. While the US seeks to maintain a status quo in the world order and international system, China, on the other hand, asserts for recognition as a major power and strives to carve out its own sphere of influence. Russia, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and the ASEAN countries have become important stakeholders in the balance of power in the Indo Pacific Region and pursue their core objectives through dynamic balancing of interests. This book brings together varying perspectives on security challenges, mapping of economic potential and proposing architectures for collective security and economic integration in the region.