Zone of Peace (Indian Ocean)

The Indian Ocean Zone of Peace is a concept declared by UN General Assembly Resolution 2832 (XXVI) on 16 December 1971, which called on great powers to halt military escalation and the establishment of bases in the Indian Ocean and to keep it free of great-power rivalry. Sri Lanka led the proposal; an Ad Hoc Committee on the Indian Ocean was set up to convene a conference that never took place. The declaration carries no binding force and was overtaken by US, Soviet, and later Chinese and Indian naval presence, but it remains a touchstone in regional maritime-security diplomacy.