Energy security and the rise of China and India are two important elements of the current international discourse. Yet, we have barely begun to understand the full import of the intersection between the two issues. This paper raises some broader questions on the tension between the two Asian giants’ quest for energy security and the presumed Western consensus on the organising principles of international security. The paper begins with an assessment of the unfolding changes in the foreign policies of China and India amid the new imperatives of economic growth and resource security.