The advent of the 21st century has seen a shift from uni polarity to multi polarity, mainly due to China's rise. Chinese ambitions are aligned and expansive, which are driven by nationalism, economic uplift and military modernization. China is evolving as a major powerhouse of the current world order. Trade,economic reforms, up gradation of the military, appealing to the masses through its culture and peaceful settlement of disputes are Chinese means for shaping new world order. America's decreasing sphere of influence in multilateral agreements such as the Paris Agreement and the Iran Nuclear deal is proving windows of opportunities for rising powers like China. China aims to strengthen its position in the international system.

The Indian Ocean has gradually emerged as a significant region in terms of the economic and geopolitical patterns of the world powers. In the contemporary power struggles, it has become a most important contesting ground for global dominance. This research analyses the Geo strategic significance of the Indian Ocean and the interests of regional and great powers in it. The study is particularly focusing on two sub-regions of the Indian Ocean (IO) (Arabian Gulf and South Asia) and is mainly probing the strategic competition between New Delhi and Islamabad in these areas. And the structural enforcement these South Asian countries are receiving from Washington and Beijing. Active engagements of great powers in the said regions also highlight the global dynamic of strategic competition IO. The research concludes that different strategies adopted by regional and global powers to increase their sphere of influence in IOR are consequently enhancing strategic dilemma and initiating arms race between regional powers and that any mishandling can easily ends up in a war, which may not be an ordinary one because all the states focused in the current study are nuclear capable.

After becoming a nuclear power in 1998, Pakistan pursued a policy of Minimum Credible Deterrence. The country transformed its policy from Credible Minimum to Full Spectrum Deterrence (FSD) in 2013. It is important to understand the reasons for this change. The study addressed questions: What were the factors which pressed Pakistan towards the transformation of its nuclear posture? Keeping in view FSD, is there any development in the nuclear force structure of Pakistan? How far FSD would ensure the credibility of the deterrent value of Pakistan’s nuclear forces? Transformation in the nuclear posture of Pakistan would be studied under the Theory of Nuclear Deterrence, which postulates that the sole purpose of a nuclear weapon is to stop an adversary from taking aggressive moves. The paper is aimed at evaluating the impact of the change in Pakistan’s nuclear posture on the overall strategic environment of South Asia. The study gives an objective analysis of the impact of FSD on Indo-Pak strategic interaction. The study concludes that FSD has successfully deterred the Indian Cold Start Doctrine (CSD) but remained unsuccessful in ensuring strategic stability. With the “New Normal,” India will continue to utilise its conventional superiority in its favour.