New Delhi, Oct 5 Its an ocean as vast as the sub-continent whose name it bears, encompassing Asia to the north, Australia to the east and Africa to the west. With 20 per cent of the water on the Earths surface, the sea routes of the Indian Ocean carry 80 per cent of the worlds shipping trade in oil, connecting East Asia, the Middle East and Africa to Europe and the Americas and without New Delhi intending it so, could be the theatre of a new geopolitical rivalry between India and China.
But then, as internationally acclaimed economist and urban theorist Sanjeev Sanyal puts it, "those who remember history will know that the Indian Ocean has seen the likes of Rajendra Chola and Zheng He before. They will also know to expect the unexpected", Sanyal writes in "The Incredible History Of The Indian Ocean"
( With inputs from IANS )
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