Navigating the Turbulent Currents of Geopolitics

“International politics is never about democracy and human rights. It's about the interests of states. Remember that, no matter what you are told in history lessons.”

Egon Bahr

Geopolitics is an integration of two key distinct disciplines, geography and Political Science, which assist in analysing relations between two countries or conflicts in a region through the lens of Geography. The geography of a region plays a crucial role in shaping dynamic international relations, defining and redefining alliances. ASEAN, in this regard, is a prime example as it exemplifies the importance of the geography of South-East Asia, compelling member countries to align their interests and come together at a common table. Further, the 59 active conflicts occurring in the world at the moment have a geographical background associated with them. In this regard, one can cite the example of piracy in the Indian Ocean. Piracy operations conducted by pirates of Somalia are also driven by the lucrative geographical position - proximity to the Suez Canal, a major transportation route connecting Asia with Europe. Control over the canal would result in disruption of global trade, providing for means of ransom for the Somali Pirates, thus fulfilling their objectives. This article wishes to explore the intricacies of Geopolitics via two examples - the Indian Ocean Region and the Arctic Region.

Case of the Indian Ocean Region

The threats of piracy are real and are concentrated in the Indian Ocean region, which calls for a careful understanding of the changing relations between the countries, which have created a vacuum and that has been exploited by the pirate groups of Somalia.

The Indian Ocean Region has transformed over the years into a geopolitical battleground between two emerging superpowers of the world - India and China, further complicated due to rising interests of countries like the USA, Japan and Australia in the region. Driven by the aim of ‘expansionism’, China has tread into the Indian Ocean post establishing its dominance in the South China Sea, by dominating the minnows - the Philippines. Through building ties with Sri Lanka and the Maldives, China wishes to ‘choke’ India and become the ‘King of the Indian Ocean’. This has eventually opened a geopolitical issue between the two countries since the Indian Ocean is closer to the Malacca Strait, through which a large share of global trade occurs. Moreover, the Indian Ocean houses several minerals of grave significance and thus, via the expansion of its ‘Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)’ by building artificial Islands, China wishes to prevent India from exercising and gaining benefits from its EEZ rights.

The situation has further intensified in the region since the creation of two prominent groupings - the QUAD and AUKUS. QUAD or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue is an organisation comprising four nations - Japan, India, the USA and Australia, aligning their interests to counter the rise of China in the Indo-Pacific region and prevent control of a single country. On the other hand, AUKUS - a trilateral organisation of Australia, the USA and the United Kingdom envisages the idea of a ‘free and open Indo-Pacific that is secure and stable. Malabar Exercise further adds ‘fuel to the fire’, thus forcing countries in the region to adopt such measures that secure their interests.

India, on the other hand, has acted swiftly by employing a strategy that is a mix of hard and soft power. It has showcased its ‘kind heart’ to win over the countries of this region. India assisted Sri Lanka by providing financial assistance of 1 Billion Dollars when the former was dealing with a grave financial crisis. Further Operation VACCINE MAITRI has played its part in Sri Lanka declaring that - ‘It will not allow utilisation of its land in a manner that threatens the security of India’. On the other hand, the Maldives, though it wished to realign relations with India and come closer to China, also couldn’t prevent itself from seeking the assistance of India in developing a new port in Thilafushi, expanding the network of Jan Aushadi Kendras in the country to count among a few. Thus, the Indian Ocean Region serves as a good example of how Geopolitics affects relations between countries.

Emerging geopolitics of the High North

The previous section dealt with how IOR is an emerging geopolitical arena in the contemporary world order. However, it is not the only ‘oceanic region’ to hold such significance. Another region gaining ground as a battleground between nation states is the Arctic Region, which boasts a situation similar to that, with the exception that here India is trying to establish itself as a major player and gain from the benefits that the region provides.

A region earlier marked by polar icecaps has come into the focus of the world and has emerged as a new geopolitical centre, all because of one culprit - Climate Change. Climate change forced the melting of ice caps in the Arctic region, thus opening new trade routes in the world. Trade through the Arctic Ocean would be beneficial as it would result in less distance to be covered, a reduction in transportation costs, and in turn resulting in lower carbon emissions. Countries like China, Russia, Norway, USA have started to establish their dominance in the region. The USA wishes to ‘buy out’ Greenland due to its proximity to the Arctic Ocean and the rare earth minerals it houses. Russia has developed a fleet of ice-cutting ships for easy movement along the new trade route and has built quite a few ports along the Arctic Ocean.

Now the question comes - Is India a mute spectator to this? No! India has already established the Chennai-Vladivostok trade route, which has been operational since 2024. This trade route would provide India access to the Arctic region while at the same time assist it in bolstering ties with Russia and reduce the threat posed by the increasing collaboration between Russia and China.

Conclusion

In conclusion, one can say that an understanding of the Geopolitics of an area is a key for countries to devise and implement foreign policies in a manner that fulfils their vested interests and helps in establishing deep relations with other nations, which are marked by cooperation and support for mutual growth and development. Further, it can provide for cooperation in fields like developing climate-resilient infrastructure, countering the rise of despotic powers in the region, to name a few.

By Prattyush Kala

Prattyush Kala is a third-year undergraduate student, pursuing B.A.(Hons.) Geography from the coveted Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi. As a geographer possesses a keen interest in Geopolitics and can aptly analyse world events.

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