Regional Organization for the Indian Ocean Area

Abstract

THE INDIAN OCEAN AREA presents certain special problems which can only be understood in terms of its history. From the beginning of the 19th century to 1942 the Indian Ocean was a British lake even more than the Mediterranean or the North Seas. From every side access to the waters of the Indian Ocean was controlled by Britain. Singapore in the east and Aden in the west controlled the side entrances. The predominance of British power in the Atlantic made any entry from that side impossible. In fact, till the Japanese by their conquest of Singapore opened the door from the Pacific, the Indian Ocean was free from all threat from any great power. Lying midway between the Pacific and the Atlantic it is one of the great highways of commerce. The countries of the Mediterranean reach out to the great markets of the East through the Arabian sea. For the great colonizing powers, Britain and France, its shipping routes are of the utmost importance for communication with their overseas Dominions and Colonies. The geographical configuration of the Indian Ocean gives it very special importance in global strategy. Unlike the other oceans which are like highways from the Arctic to the Antarctic, the Indian Ocean is roofed on the top by the southern coast of the Asiatic continent and flanked on either side by equally important land areas. From the roof the great land mass of India juts out like a colossal tongue. Burma, Malaya and the great islands of Indonesia, which constitute a storehouse of much of the raw materials necessary for modern industry, are washed by its waters. In short, European nations can have access to the markets of India and to the raw materials of the tropical East only through the sea lanes of this ocean. It is the central position of India that has at all times dominated this strategic area. Since the beginning of the 16th century when the Indian