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Description

South Asia is projected to play a major role in global energy markets over the next several decades, with India alone expected to become the world’s third largest importer of petroleum by 2030. Satisfying the region’s growing demands will require a heightened degree of energy interdependence among historically antagonistic states. Consequently, like it or not, regional leaders will face a tradeoff between traditional desires for energy self-sufficiency and the ambitious development targets that they have set for themselves. Achieving such growth, therefore, requires that India, Pakistan, and the other countries of South Asia first address the persistent international disputes that hamper cross-border energy trade, establish effective control over presently ungoverned areas, reorient the missions of military forces to some extent, and develop a better understanding of the effects that energy interdependence will have on broader relations with neighbors.

Document Type

Policy Brief

Region(s)

South Asia

Topic(s)

Defense Policy, International Law, National Security

Publication Date

9-2008

Publication

Strategic Forum

Publisher

National Defense University Press

City

Washington, DC

Keywords

energy security in South Asia, regional energy interdependence, South Asia economic growth, India energy demand, Pakistan and energy cooperation, Afghanistan and regional energy trade, energy trade and political stability, national security implications of energy interdependence

Energy Security in South Asia: Can Interdependence Breed Stability?

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