After the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, the Indian Ocean is the third largest maritime area on the planet. Surrounded by Africa to the west, Asia to the north and Oceania to the east, it brings together twenty-five states and 2.7 billion inhabitants, or a third of the world's population. New Delhi seems to want to reclaim this heritage by turning to the sea. A highly strategic area whose importance has only grown in recent years. India is not a historical maritime power and its successive empires have primarily been continental, yet it is India that gave its name to the ocean that extends south of its coasts. However, from 1757 to 1947 it was dominated by the United Kingdom, a maritime power par excellence.