India, July 3 -- Drawing upon both its civilisational legacy and contemporary strategic vision, India has the opportunity not merely to safeguard the Indian Ocean but to emerge as its foremost maritime power - anchoring regional stability, expanding global trade and leading through a model of cooperation, connectivity and Dharma-based diplomacy

The twenty-first century is increasingly being described as the Indian Ocean Century. As the global economic centre of gravity shifts from the Atlantic to Asia, the vast maritime region stretching from the eastern coast of Africa to the western Pacific has emerged as the world's busiest and most strategically important sea space. More than 80 per cent of the world's seaborne oil trade by volume an...