Indian Ocean Chokepoints and Maritime Imperialism before Europeans

• In Event: Port-City Contacts and Diplomacy in Asia’s Modern Transformation

Abstract

The first part of this paper will argue that the view of the Indian Ocean world as a region free from armed conflicts prior to the arrival of European colonial enterprises is inaccurate. By examining the role of the Chola court in southern India, the Srivijayan polity in Southeast Asia, and Ming China under the Yongle emperor, it will demonstrate the exertion of naval power by Asian polities before the entry of European powers in the Indian Ocean. The contacts between port-cities, the diplomatic relations among polities, and the lucrative maritime trade were all influenced by the use of naval force employed to control of various chokepoints or install new regimes in strategic locations. These episodes took place shortly after 1000 CE and were intimately connected to the development of shipbuilding technology, a greater knowledge of the maritime world, and the availability of gunpowder-based weapons.
In the second part, the paper will explain how the modern nation-states India and China are promoting the idea of a harmonious and peaceful Indian Ocean to accomplish their respective transnational agendas under the rubrics of “Project Mausam” and the “New Maritime Silk Road.” Both these state-sponsored ventures underscore the shared cultural heritage of the Indian Ocean world by selectively highlighting episodes of cordial historical exchanges and deliberately avoiding any mention of phases of conflict and skirmishes. Implemented through economic incentives and cultural collaborations, the objective of these two projects is to create spheres of influences in what is imagined to be Asia's century

Author

• Tansen Sen, Baruch College - CUNY