ihs.com Article 1 Page 1 of 13 © Copyright IHS and its affiliated and subsidiary companies, all rights reserved. All trademarks belong to IHS and its affiliated and subsidiary companies, all rights reserved. FEATURES, Afghanistan Date Posted: 11-Feb-2015 Jane's Navy International Projecting power ... and politics? Carriers in the Indian Ocean Strike-capable aircraft carriers are growing in strategic significance in the force structures of a number of navies, some of which have a strong presence in the Indian Ocean region. The region itself also is growing in geostrategic importance. Shishir Upadhyaya discusses the combined impact of these two developments Shishir Upadhyaya, Bangalore, India From front: The Italian Navy aircraft carrier ITS Cavour, the USN's Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, and the French Navy's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, conducting operations in the Gulf of Oman in January 2014. (US Navy) 1630572 The contemporary geostrategic environment in the Indian Ocean is shaped by a complex interplay of several factors. Firstly, the region is endowed with an abundance of strategic raw materials, notably oil and gas but also critical minerals. This has been a primary driver of the region's growing maritime trade. In addition, while trade between Indian Ocean littoral states constitutes only 20% of the total volume of trade moving across the region, the remaining 80% is destined