Re-emergence of the Bay of Bengal in 21st Century Geopolitics

The re-emergence of the Bay of Bengal as a central pivot of sub-regional connectivity has been concurrent with the rise of the Indo-Pacific as an integrated geopolitical region. While the South China Sea and the Taiwan Straits continue to grab attention as major geopolitical hotspots over which a future US-China armed confrontation could take place, maritime spaces like the Bay of Bengal require much more attention in their prospects for regional growth and the potential for great power rivalry that might derail such a vision. India’s strategic push to link its eastern economic space to Southeast Asia through its Act East Policy has also brought the Bay of Bengal into sharper policy focus, lending more currency to sub-regional institutions like the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC). This paper will assess the re-emergence of the Bay of Bengal as a central maritime node of connectivity and a theatre of the Indo-Pacific competition-cooperation dynamic. Then, the paper will analyse how sub-regionalism for regional growth and prosperity is being re-imagined keeping the Bay of Bengal as a fulcrum and the role of India in the same.