Soviet-Indian relations and the Indian Ocean as a zone of peace

Abstract

On 16 December 1971, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 2832 (XXVI) declaring the Indian Ocean, within limits to be determined, together with its air space and sea bed, to be a zone of peace. The resolution also call upon the Great Powers to enter into negotiations with the littoral states of the region to halt any further association of their military presence and to eliminate all bases and other Great Power competition. This paper examines the history of the zone of peace process as it relates to the interests of three states: The United States, the Soviet Union, and India. Particular attention is devoted to the Soviet and Indian positions, and how each nation's regional interests have led to divergent views on the topic. The work concludes that previous attempts to make the Indian Ocean into a zone of peace have concentrated on drafting international resolutions and reducing naval arms, while ignoring the central problem of competing national interests. Confidence-building measures related to these interests would be a betters approach, now that naval arms reduction talks are deadlocked.