Book Reviews
Book Reviews Rajesh Basrur, Anit Mukherjee, and inclined to perceive India as the defen- T.V. Paul (eds.). India-China Maritime sive state in Indo-China competition, Competition: The Security Dilemma at and China as the aggressor, perhaps Sea. Cass Series in Naval Policy and even anarchic, state. The distinction History (ed. Geoffrey Till). London and between the aggressor and defensive New York: Routledge, www.routledge. nations is left unstated viz. China and com, 2019. xiii+192 pp., illustrations, the United States, but the implication tables, charts, index. US $155.00, cloth; that China is an unpredictable, anarchic ISBN 1-978-03670-0154-4.^pp state actor remains tacit. India-China Maritime Competition A compilation of the work of eleven offers two distinct analytical approach- scholars, Basrur, Mukherjee, and Paul es. First, the topics the contributors cov- (henceforth Basrur, et al.) present a rich er span the geographic region between volume focusing on the Indian-Ocean Pakistan and, eventually, the United Region (IOR), the archipelagos of States. Distinct focus is placed on the Southeast Asia, and the Asia Pacific Re- IOR, on China, and on the states affect- gion. They draw attention to the mari- ed by China’s swelling and increasing- time security dilemma existing between ly modern navy (People’s Liberation India and China, which is defined as Army Navy [PLAN]) and aggressive any situation where either state actor foreign policy in the form of the bur- makes a strategic decision that the other geoning Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). actor perceives as a threat. This results The second area of focus is the effect of in a corresponding action whereby the the United States on Sino-Indian securi- first state actor chooses to respond in ty relations, and policy implementation kind.
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