Under the garb of globalisation there has been a proliferation of regional and sub-regional economic bodies set up all over the world in pursuit of economic integration. Simultaneously, many nation-states have embarked on strategies for safeguarding national interests vis-à-vis global security challenges. Australia's Defence White Paper 2009 (DWP) spells out its aims for defending itself in the Asia–Pacific region, which has become the pivot of global security and economic paradigms. Australian defence strategies encompass the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), while India as the main littoral state has its own national interests and security and strategic concerns to consider. This paper analyses the existing Indian strategy towards Australia and the IOR, especially in response to the DWP.
