India, a continental and maritime power, holds key role as preferred partner in Indian Ocean region: CDS Gen Anil Chauhan

Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan on Sunday highlighted that the struggle for global power that was once aimed at geographical control ranging from the land to the skies has now expanded to space as well as into the cyberspace and the cognitive domain. Further, he said that India a continental and a maritime power enjoys a predominant position in the Indian Ocean region, and hence, it is "always the first responder and preferred partner of choice for any other country."

Gen Chauhan was addressing the 9th Military Literature Festival 2025, themed 'Heartland and Rimland powers in a Multi-domain Warfare and India' on its second day in Chandigarh.

Citing from British author Tim Marshall's book 'Prisoners and Geography', the CDS emphasised that a nation's location and its geographic characteristics determine its ability to project power and provide strategic options, regardless of its size.

"If you look at the geopolitical events of the 20th century, India's partition, the coming of Pakistan, our war with China, forced India to have a continental kind of an outlook. But if you have a look at India's geography, I think it says that India is both a continental and a maritime power... So India enjoys a predominant position in the Indian Ocean region, and hence, we are always the first responder and preferred partner of choice for any other country..." he said.

"Over a century the struggle for global power has been an essence for struggle of control of geography. The seas, the continents, the skies and if you look at today's contact, it extends towards space, cyberspace and the cognitive domain. The location of nation states and its clinical geography determines enmity to project path and provide strategic options beyond its size," General Chauhan said.

He cited examples of countries, including Djibouti and Singapore, highlighting their strategic importance. CDS Chauhan mentioned that both nations are situated in strategically critical locations. Djibouti is located at the Bab el Mandeb, whereas Singapore is near the Strait of Malacca.

CDS Chauhan emphasised that the location of these countries enhances their importance in international trade.

"There are two small nations, Djibouti and Singapore, both of which lie at the Bab el Mandeb and the Strait of Malacca, not only strategically important but also important for trade. Similarly if we look at nearest maritime neighbour Indonesia, the number of states which connects the pacific and the Indian ocean that is Malacca, Sunda, Lombok, and Ombai-Wetar Straits," CDS said.