Maritime Commerce and Security: The Indian Ocean describes the commerical trends and their security implications with a view to helping policy makers and others outside the industry understand the vulnerabilities of an industry that is central to the global economy and security.Maritime commerce in the Indian Ocean is vital to global trade, in volume, in the key resources and manufactured goods that it moves, and in the steadily predominating significance of the economies of East Asia, India, the Gulf, Australia, and South Africa.