Washington:
India's strategic location in the Indian Ocean and proud martial traditions will make it a dominant player in South Asia and the Middle East in the next 25 years, a Pentagon report has said.
US Joint Forces Command in its latest report of emerging geopolitical and technological trends, which estimates their potential impact on future military operations, said it will likely have a role to play as America encourages the growth of India as a regional and even global power.
"India has a special place in the future international environment. Few countries in the world may figure as prominently in future US strategic calculations," a 'Joint Operating Environment (JOE) 2010' report released on Tuesday said.
"India's military will receive substantial upgrades in the coming years. That fact, combined with its proud martial traditions and strategic location in the Indian Ocean, will make India the dominant player in South Asia and the Middle East," the report said.
In the next 25 years, the report said relative balance of power between states will shift, some growing faster than the US and many states weakening relative to the US.