B. K. Sharma – författare

More than four decades ago, the 26th UN General Assembly (UNGA) declared that "the Indian Ocean, together with the air space above and the ocean floor, as a zone of peace." It also called upon the littorals and the hinterland states of the Indian Ocean, the permanent members of the Security Council and other major maritime users of the Indian Ocean to "enter into consultations to implement this declaration through universal collective security and strengthened international cooperation." These declarations have not yet metamorphosed into reality, which reflects the complexity of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). It is also interesting to observe that the geographical limits of the Indian Ocean continue to remain diffused and unclear. The book focuses on aspects of emerging strategic cooperation, competition and conflict scenarios; security challenges and role of major stakeholders of the region.

India-South Korea bilateral relations achieved a critical landmark with the upgrade of a fast growing relationship to a 'Strategic Partnership'. As a timely initiative intended to contribute to the process of this upgrade, two premier strategic think tanks, namely the United Services Institution of India (USI) and Research Institute for National Security Affairs (RINSA), South Korea, undertook a joint research project. The project brought together in house security scholars from the Indian and South Korean think tanks to reflect on specified security themes. In true bilateral spirit, a total of eight scholars - four each from USI (India) and RINSA (South Korea), took part in this project. Since both nations today stand at the cusp of a strategic partnership, four themes of strategic significance were chosen for joint research. The themes broadly dealt with Geopolitics of the Regions, India-South Korea Bilateral Relations, Security Cooperation and Nuclear Issues. Each theme was addressed by two scholars-one from India and one from South Korea. This ensured that each theme was 'viewed' from both vantage spots.This collection of papers is the first structured attempt to state both Indian and South Korean perspectives on chosen strategic themes. The hope is that it will serve as the start point of further engagement and research, and will be able to guide those involved in crafting the trajectory of this strategic partnership.

There is a wide spread perception amongst the intelligentsia that India lacks strategic culture. The deficiency if any perhaps lies in the reluctance to articulate India’s perceptions on strategic issues, as also to formulate a long term strategic view. As the oldest think tank in Asia, United Services Institution of India (USI) decided to address the above issue and how it could contribute to evolution and dissemination of strategic thought on challenges facing the Nation. To this end the publication of a USI Strategic Yearbook 2016, which was the maiden attempt, which received wide appreciation for its quality and contents.This current issue of the Yearbook contains series of articles by eminent persons and experts on various aspects of national security; the aim being to provide a strategic perspective which will create awareness and also help the policymakers in giving a strategic direction for India to transform into a developed society and a secured nation. USI hope’s that readers will find this publication useful and interesting.