The US remains far ahead of China in terms of maritime capabilities and even farther ahead of India across all five categories of maritime capability. SLOC protection, maritime dominance (sea control and sea denial), power projection, submarine-launched nuclear second-strike capability, and space dominance. A significant maritime build-up is taking place across five strategic categories:.This could trouble the Ocean’s waters considerably and pose a potential source of future conflict. Even as China and India harbor ambitions to expand their forward naval presence in the Indian Ocean, historically embedded mistrust is encouraging mutual suspicion concerning each party’s intentions. The Indian Ocean is a major testing ground for great-power relations between the US and the potential emerging contenders China and India.The strategically located choke points are extremely vulnerable to disruptive attacks both from state and non-state actors, including pirates and terrorists. The safety of the Indian Ocean’s SLOCs is of vital importance to the growth of the emerging economies in South and East Asia, as well as the world economy at large.The analysis in this Future Issue warrants the following conclusions: These current and future key developments in the Indian Ocean will have important implications for security and business continuity. There is little disagreement, however, that the economic and strategic importance of the Ocean’s major Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs) – particularly its choke points – will continue to grow amidst an accelerating maritime build-up, the continued presence of significant pockets of regional instability, maritime piracy, and terrorism. This Future Issue reveals the considerable amount of disagreement existing among experts with regard to the future trajectory of events in the Indian Ocean. Maritime rivalries in the Indian Ocean are an early indicator of the return of great-power politics to the limelight of the international arena. The Indian Ocean is fast becoming the new center of economic gravity, as it ties together the economic fortunes of emerging Asia, the US, and Europe. Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace (GCSC).Sustainability and the Energy Transition.Critical Materials, Minerals and Metals.Governance and International Organization.Strategic Stability: Deterrence and Arms Control.Initiative on the Future of Transatlantic Relations.As a founding member of IORA, we support greater economic development and integration across the IORA membership. Australia's engagement with IORA bolsters our bilateral and sub-regional relationships, within the broader context of Australia's Indo-Pacific interests.

Its strategic reach and key members make it a worthy investment for Australian foreign policy. IORA is the only ministerial-level forum concerned with the Indian Ocean and includes important dialogue partners. More information about IORA is available on IORA's official website.

It is headed by a fixed term Secretary-General. The IORA Secretariat is based in Mauritius. IORA became an observer to the UN General Assembly and the African Union in 2015.ĭecisions made within IORA are reached by consensus and commitments are undertaken on a voluntary basis. IORA has 10 dialogue partners: China, Egypt, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Turkey, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.Īustralia is a founding IORA member and chaired the organisation between 20. IORA has evolved into the peak regional group spanning the Indian Ocean.įrom its inception with 14 member states, the membership has expanded to 23 countries: Australia, Bangladesh, the Comoros, France, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) is an inter-governmental organisation formed in 1997 to foster regional economic cooperation.

Indian ocean