OPINION | Analysing India's "no war, no peace" plan for maritime security

At first glance, India’s Maritime Doctrine 2025 appears to be a routine update to earlier editions. Read closely, the new doctrine shows a subtle modification in how the Indian Navy understands the environment in which it operates.

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.