The maritime universe does not lend itself to the simple verities of the Left protesters against the Nimitz. In the post-Cold War world, navies around the world highly value and actively seek greater cooperation with one another. As one of the world’s leading maritime nations, there is no reason for India to deny itself the benefits of international naval cooperation.

There was a time, though, from the mid-1960s until the mid-1980s when Indian governments in their wisdom shut our military establishment from all contact with their professional counterparts around the world. Indian armed forces would not even exercise with the military of our best friend, the Soviet Union.

In that era of military isolationism, New Delhi often demanded that all great power navies should withdraw from the Indian Ocean. While we felt pious about the Zone of Peace, our neighbours saw it as a devious design to establish our own hegemony over the Indian Ocean. Some of them turned the slogan against us. Kathmandu, for example, used to ask New Delhi to support Nepal as a “zone of peace”. For Nepal, it was a way of playing the China card against India.

It was also the time when India argued that any country which offered bases to great powers was not eligible for membership of the Non-Aligned Movement. In a fascinating reversal, the speculation is now all about China and India trying to acquire facilities of various kinds in the Indian Ocean, especially in the small island states.

... contd.