India's New Maritime Doctrine: From "First Responder" to Grey-Zone Warfare

According to a report in Australia-based independent think tank Lowy Institute's 'The Interpreter', the doctrine's geographic imagination has also expanded, with earlier versions focused mainly on the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) as the "core theatre for India's maritime strategy". The 2015 doctrine broadened India's maritime outlook by outlining primary and secondary areas of interest beyond the region.

The doctrine, the report said, presented India, the Indian Ocean Region and the Indo-Pacific as an interconnected continuum rather than a "hierarchy of operational priorities". The shift is significant because it integrates the Indo-Pacific concept within the doctrinal framework that shapes India's naval planning.

"Most notably, the new doctrine is an acknowledgement that contemporary conflict rarely conforms to a clear line between peace and war. The document repeatedly refers to a condition described as "No War No Peace" - the space where countries pursue their objectives without crossing the threshold of open armed conflict. Rather than treating war as a discrete event, the doctrine situates it along a continuum of cooperation, competition, confrontation, and conflict," the report detailed.

"Maritime rivalry today seldom erupts into open conflict. It unfolds through forms of pressure, such as ships shadowing one another, increased patrols, and competing legal claims. The doctrine's attention to such dynamics suggests that the Indian Navy sees maritime competition as an ongoing contest for advantage," it added.

The report stressed that the doctrine responds to the strategic environment by addressing "grey-zone operations", a concept that has become prominent over the past decade, especially in the South China Sea context. Such activities typically exploit legal and political ambiguity, employ proxies or indirect instruments, and seek to impose pressure on adversaries without provoking conventional retaliation.

"By explicitly defining grey-zone operations, the doctrine attempts to bring conceptual clarity to an area where terms such as hybrid or irregular warfare are used interchangeably. This shows that the Indian Navy views such activities as a persistent feature of the maritime environment rather than an exceptional circumstance," the report mentioned.

The doctrine, it said, emphasises that modern naval operations go beyond direct fleet physical engagements and incorporate a "cognitive" element.

"It involves influencing how adversaries perceive situations and make decisions. This focus appears in the discussion of "manoeuvre warfare", traditionally associated with mobility and surprise, but also as a method of disrupting an adversary's cohesion and decision-making processes. Such thinking points to a change in Indian military doctrine - acknowledging that the battle for influence also unfolds in the realm of narratives and interpretation," the report noted.

- IANS