Samudra Manthan: Sino-lndian Rivalry in the Indo-Pacific

摘要

Raja Mohan nests his masterful study of the Indo-Pacific strategic triangle in the Hindu fable of Samudra Manthan, in which angels and demons churn the ocean in search of immortality, with Vishnu tilting the contest toward the angels. Mohan's thesis is that the India-China rivalry that has emerged as one of the denning features of the Indo-Pacific strategic environment will be influenced decisively 'by the kind of policies that the United States, as the leading maritime power in the Indo-Pacific, might adopt' (p. 236). At the same time, China and India will transform global maritime norms, with important consequences for US maritime primacy.