Geopolityka i geostrategia wybranych mocarstw w regionie Oceanu Indyjskiego i Zachodniego Pacyfiku

The Asian Development Bank forecasts that within 40 years Asia will catch up with Europe and North America which means that it will regain its dominating position in the global economy. Among many countries in this region China, which has already become world great power, deserves special attention. A dynamic progress is also the characteristic of India, a country which competes with China for the access to energy resources. Thus, a great race of those countries has commenced to have access to those resources as well as to secure the routes of their transport. Due to the above situation, the Indian Ocean and the West Pacific have gain special significance hence the Middle East and Africa are for the aforementioned countries a resource base. This, moreover, overlaps with strategic interests of the USA, Russia and other countries. As a result it is the beginning of a big game between China and India and the prize is the security of communication routes on the Indian Ocean and the West Pacific, where also the USA have their strategic interests. A big game between China, the USA, and Russia is also carried put in order to gain access to natural resources in Central Asia including the Caspian Sea and the Middle East. In the above situation, the ASEAN countries have become important being the passage area between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific. This is because of the Strait of Malacca which is located in this area and passed by 50 thousand ships yearly.