Abstract

In the twenty-first century diplomatic world, the foreign policy of a nation, security, and survivability of the world not only limits on territorial land but extends towards the sea and ocean, that is why most of the major countries in the world focus on ocean diplomacy. As Robert Kaplan has rightly argued that the sea has always been an essential and integral component of human civilization, and this appears to be much more accurate in East Asia because of life in this particular region centred on its huge maritime world. So he rightly stated that while Europe is a landscape on the other hand East Asia is a seascape. In this premise, The South China Sea (SCS) has become a significant area of geopolitical contestation, as it is rich in natural resources, strategically located, and home to disputed territories. China’s forceful moves in the SCS region in the way of Island construction and maritime territorial claims have become a major concern for India as well as Major World powers. As India seeks to expand its influence in the Indo-Pacific, it has also developed an increasing interest in the SCS due to economic, strategic, and security considerations. It is because the energy resources, maritime trade routes, security concerns, regional alliances, and great power competition pushes to the two mighty powers of Asia to involve in this ocean. So, in this premise, this paper tries to examine the geopolitical importance of the SCS region with a specific focus on the interest of India and China. This paper further tries to analyze India’s strategy to counter the Chinese hegemony in this region and its concern for regional stability. Hence in this paper qualitative research design such as historical, analytical, and descriptive methods will be used and Date will be Collected from both Primary and Secondary sources.

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