Why the Indian Ocean has become the newest arena of great-power competition — and India's answer to it.
SAGAR ("Security and Growth for All in the Region"), articulated in 2015, is India's vision for the Indian Ocean Region — emphasising maritime security cooperation, capacity building for smaller littoral states, disaster relief, and freedom of navigation, positioning India as a net security provider in the region.
The "String of Pearls" is a Western analytical term (not an official Chinese policy) describing China's network of commercial and potentially military port infrastructure across the Indian Ocean rim — including Gwadar (Pakistan), Hambantota (Sri Lanka), and facilities in Djibouti and Myanmar — seen by Indian strategists as an attempt to encircle India strategically.
India has strengthened the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), deepened ties with island states (Seychelles, Mauritius, Maldives), and participates in maritime dimensions of the Quad — alongside expanding its own naval presence and infrastructure (e.g., in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands) to secure critical sea lines of communication.
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