Silk, Cinnamon and Cotton: Emerging Power Strategies for the Indian Ocean and the Implications for Africa

The document examines the revival of the Indian Ocean as a commercial and geo-strategic hub, driven by the strategic visions of China, India, and Indonesia. It details China's 'maritime Silk Road', India's focus on security and the 'cotton route', and Indonesia's 'global maritime fulcrum'. The brief highlights South Africa's 'Operation Phakisa' and its goal to expand its blue economy. It concludes that Africa must coordinate its maritime strategies through the AU and IORA to avoid further militarisation and to leverage economic opportunities from these emerging power strategies.

• China is implementing a 'maritime Silk Road' initiative to revive ancient trading networks, focusing on economic co-operation, infrastructure, and the free flow of investment and people. This project is supported by a $40 billion Silk Road Fund and a $62 billion capital injection into policy banks.
• China's maritime strategy includes significant infrastructure projects in Africa, such as the rehabilitation of the East African railway linking Mombasa and Nairobi, port expansions in Dar es Salaam and Lamu, and the resuscitation of the port of Bagamoyo in Tanzania.
• India is pursuing a strategic vision for the Indian Ocean that emphasizes security co-operation with Japan and Australia, the 'Act East' policy, and the revival of an ancient 'cotton route' to counter China's influence.
• Indonesia has launched the 'global maritime fulcrum' policy, which aims to revive its maritime culture, manage fisheries for 'food sovereignty', and develop port facilities and naval capacity to act as an axis between the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
• South Africa is implementing 'Operation Phakisa' to grow its maritime economy from ZAR 27.54 billion in 2010 to ZAR 177 billion by 2033, focusing on shipping, repairs, aquaculture, and the exploration of offshore oil and gas resources estimated at $2.2 billion.
• The authors recommend that South Africa and the African Union (AU) adopt a more activist approach to prevent the 'creeping militarisation' of the Indian Ocean and instead focus on the AU's African Integrated Maritime Strategy (AIMS) and the 'blue economy'.

APA

Alden, C., & Sidiropoulos, E. (2015). Silk, Cinnamon and Cotton: Emerging Power Strategies for the Indian Ocean and the Implications for Africa. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Policy-Insights-18.pdf

Chicago

Alden, Chris, and Elizabeth Sidiropoulos. Silk, Cinnamon and Cotton: Emerging Power Strategies for the Indian Ocean and the Implications for Africa. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2015. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Policy-Insights-18.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Alden |first1=Chris |last2=Sidiropoulos |first2=Elizabeth |title=Silk, Cinnamon and Cotton: Emerging Power Strategies for the Indian Ocean and the Implications for Africa |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=18 June 2015 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Policy-Insights-18.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{alden2015silk, author = {Alden, Chris and Sidiropoulos, Elizabeth}, title = {{Silk, Cinnamon and Cotton: Emerging Power Strategies for the Indian Ocean and the Implications for Africa}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2015}, month = jun, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Policy-Insights-18.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }