News Story: In blow to Britain, UN votes to seek legal opinion on Chagos (Diego Garcia) fate

Diego Garcia (Image: Wiki Commons)

By Carole LANDRY

In a diplomatic blow to Britain, the United Nations voted Thursday to ask the International Court of Justice to rule on the fate of the British-ruled Chagos islands, which host an important military base.

The Indian Ocean archipelago has been at the center of a decades-long dispute over Britain's decision to separate it from Mauritius in 1965 and set up a joint military base with the US on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands.

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution presented by Mauritius and backed by African countries asking the ICJ to offer an opinion on the island chain's fate.

The measure was approved by a vote of 94-15 with 65 abstentions, notably from many European countries including Germany and France.

The vote was seen as a test of Britain's ability to rally support at the United Nations from fellow Europeans after it voted to leave the European Union.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Report: Securing Indian Ocean Region - India, Mauritius Strengthen Maritime Pact

India has extended a US$500 million credit line to Mauritius and a maritime security pact to boost cooperation between the two countries along with signing agreements in the domain of education and marine science and technology.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — India's overtures to Mauritius comes two weeks after the country attended China's Belt and Road initiative in Beijing, and during the visit of Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth over the weekend. Mauritius was represented by a minister only, unlike Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and others who were represented by their top leaders at the Belt and Road Summit.

New Delhi has often described Mauritius as key to its Indian Ocean region security architecture and securing trade routes. Moreover, both countries share unique historical and cultural ties, especially with the island in the Indian Ocean having a large population of ethnic Indians who were taken there by British colonizers to work as indentured laborers.

In their joint statement on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart reiterated these linkages and said the effective management of conventional and non-conventional threats in the Indian Ocean was a prerequisite for the exploitation of economic opportunities.

News Report: India to Challenge Chinese Monopoly on Naval Vessel Supply to Sri Lanka

Amid increased Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean Region, India has expedited supplying naval vessels to its neighbors to sustain its hold in the region. Once the naval vessel is delivered to Mauritius, India’s Goa Shipyard is expected to transfer an offshore patrol vessel to Sri Lanka next month.

New Delhi (Sputnik) – The Mauritius was given the second Fast Patrol Vessel and Sri Lanka is to get an advanced offshore patrol vessel (OPV). The ships to both the countries have been delivered months before schedule. Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) has also begun work on the second OPV destined for the Sri Lankan Navy on Tuesday which is scheduled to deliver next year.

"India has the capability to build such vessels and give them to friendly countries. We are cooperating with all our neighboring countries, and wherever we have weapons, we can cooperate and be a partner in their security setup. From that perspective, Sri Lanka is an important partner in our bilateral relationship and this OPV is a major milestone in our bilateral relationship," A K Gupta, Secretary, Defense Production said after the launch of the advanced OPV for Sri Lanka.

News Report: India Delivers Second Fast Patrol Vessel to Mauritius

India has delivered the second fast patrol vessel (FPV), christened MCGS Valiant, to the Mauritius Police Force’s National Coast Guard.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — The fast patrol vessel was handed over by Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) chairman (Rear Admiral) Shekhar Mital to K Jhugroo, Deputy Commissioner of Police, the Mauritius Police Force.

"We have successfully delivered this ship four months ahead of the contractual schedule of August 2017, within 23 months of keel laying which is a record in itself, which is in lines with the track record of GSL in the recent times of timely deliveries. This shows the dedication and commitment of all the stakeholders involved," Mital said.

The first FPV was delivered to the Mauritius Coast Guard last year in September. The 50-meter-long FPV is powered by triple diesel engine water jets which can reach a top speed of more than 35 knots. It has a range of more than 1500 nautical miles, and endurance is seven days.

News Report: India Deploys Amphibious Warfare Ship in South Indian Ocean

The Indian Navy has deployed one of its three Shardul-class amphibious warfare ships to provide surveillance support in the Indian Ocean Region, primarily against illegal fishing and smuggling.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — The ship has been to the Mauritius and is now in Seychelles. The Indian Navy's deployment of the ship has been termed an assertive stance against China.

"The warship, during the initial phase of deployment, carried out joint Exclusive Economic Zone surveillance of Mauritius from 08-26 Mar 17 in close coordination with National Coast Guard, Mauritius. Post successful completion of joint EEZ Surveillance of Mauritius, the warship entered EEZ of Seychelles on 27 Mar 17 for Phase I of EEZ surveillance," said Indian Navy official.

News Report: India Eyes Indian Ocean, Defense Minister Visits Island Nation of Mauritius

Manohar Parrikar (Image: Wiki Commons)

Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar is visiting Mauritius for three days; the trip holds significance, as India is expected to leverage its position in the region by offering a line of credit to Mauritius for additional defense purchases.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar has arrived in Mauritius, where he will hand over two upgraded Cheetah helicopters to the nation's government during his three-day visit. Sources say Parrikar will also commission an Indian-built fast patrol naval vessel for the country's coast guard. In September, India presented the country a 50+ meter fast patrol vessel. The ship is fitted with a 30mm Close Range Naval-91 gun, 12.7mm heavy machine guns and 7.62mm medium machine guns, as well as state-of-the-art navigation and communication equipment. Goa Shipyard, which manufactured the vessel, has claimed that vessel is capable of achieving a high speed of 35 knots.

India: Indian Amphibious Warship INS Shardul enters Port Louis, Mauritius

INS Shardul (Image: Wiki Commons)

In a demonstration of India’s commitment to its ties with Mauritius and to promote maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region, Indian Naval Ship Shardul has arrived at Port Louis on a three day visit. INS Shardul, an amphibious ship of the Indian Navy, is currently on a month long deployment in the Southern Indian Ocean in keeping with the vision of SAGAR – Security and Growth for All in the Region. Accordingly, the Indian Navy will be progressing maritime security cooperation with Mauritius National Coast Guard (NCG) towards ensuring a secure and stable regional maritime environment for unhindered economic development in the region.

Editorial: Evaluating India-Africa Maritime Relations

Indian Navy Frigate - INS Teg

By Abhijit Singh

Partnering Africa requires that India work with it in the maritime realm.

On October 26, leaders of 54 African nations gathered in New Delhi for the third edition of the four-day India-Africa Forum Summit – an event billed in the Indian media as India’s most ambitious outreach program towards Africa. On the eve of the high-level conclave, reports indicated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposed launch of “a new era of India-Africa relations” included a plan for the comprehensive development of Africa’s littorals. In keeping with India’s expanded focus on Africa’s maritime economic potential, commentary in the media suggested, the Indian government was keen to formalize a wide-ranging maritime partnership.

Indeed, the past few years have witnessed a reorientation in India’s nautical outlook towards Africa. With increasing emphasis on developing maritime relationships with Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar, Seychelles and Mauritius, India has reached out to African states through offers of greater military aid, capacity-building and training assistance. With its economic engagement in the African continent growing rapidly, New Delhi has also sought to widen its sphere of influence in the Western Indian Ocean. In a display of a more purposeful maritime diplomacy, Indian naval ships have increased their port visits to Africa’s East coast and smaller Indian Ocean island states.

Yet, India’s essential approach to maritime cooperation has revolved around anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden. While it has provided security assistance to small island states in the Indian Ocean (undertaking regular patrols in the Exclusive Economic Zones of Mauritius and Seychelles, carrying out hydrographic surveys, even providing assistance in the establishment of a coastal radar network) the Indian Navy’s larger security initiatives have been animated by the need to safeguard energy and resource shipments in the waters off Somalia. Consequently, India’s most significant achievement in Africa has been the naval escorting of more than 3000 merchantmen since 2008, in the pirate-infested waters off the Horn of Africa.

Not surprisingly then, India’s security role in the Africa’s continental littorals has struggled to move beyond the set parameters of anti-piracy collaboration. With Indian naval ships constantly involved in collective maritime patrols in the Gulf of Aden and the East African coast, capacity building efforts – in terms of the provision of security and surveillance assets and critical technology to African navies and coast guards to help them perform basic constabulary functions – have remained rudimentary.

Read the full story at The Diplomat

Editorial: India’s ‘Look West’ Maritime Diplomacy

By Abhijit Singh

Recent developments show that India’s attention is very much on the Indian Ocean.

India’s maritime diplomacy is most often associated with its naval outreach to East Asia. With an increase in naval ship visits to South East Asia in recent years, and attendant media speculation over New Delhi’s supposed Pacific ambitions, the impression has been created that East Asia remains the ultimate destination of the Indian Navy’s diplomatic endeavours. By contrast, New Delhi’s nautical diplomacy in the Indian Ocean has seemed relatively modest. Despite its considerable contribution to sea-lanes security and counter-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia, in the popular imagination, the Indian Navy’s security efforts in the Indian Ocean region have remained confined to the level of constabulary and benign presence.

Developments in the past few months, however, have shown that India’s attention remains squarely focused on the Indian Ocean. Since February this year, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Sri Lanka, Seychelles and Mauritius, making it clear the Indian Ocean littorals remained India’s top priority, New Delhi has actively nurtured relationships with its maritime neighbours. Having improved the texture of its diplomatic ties, India has also sought to undertake joint developmental projects and strengthen a maritime security trilateral with Sri Lanka and Maldives through the inclusion of Seychelles.

New Delhi’s maritime diplomatic efforts haven’t remained limited to the cultivation of political relationships. In April this year, the Indian Navy scored one of its biggest diplomatic successes when it evacuated over 4000 Indians and 900 foreign nationals from war‐torn Yemen. Operation Rahat was seen as a credible illustration of the India’s maritime peacekeeping and benign potential, more so because it was conducted amid an active conflict, amidst an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe.

Read the full story at The Diplomat

Editorial: India and Seychelles Strengthen Ties Around Maritime Security, Economic Cooperation

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with President of the
Republic of Seychelles, James Alix Michel

By Ankit Panda

India and Seychelles continue to develop the foundations for an enduring partnership in the Indian Ocean.

India’s relationship with the Seychelles, a small Indian Ocean island state northeast of Madagascar with a population of around 90,000, is expanding. President James Michel of Seychelles was in India for a three day state visit last week that highlighted the growing links between New Delhi and Victoria. Michel last visited New Delhi on state visits in 2010 and 2005.

Michel’s visit to New Delhi comes five months after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Seychelles on a broader tour of the Indian Ocean region–Modi also visited Sri Lanka and Mauritius. Amid growing perceptions in India that China is laying down a strategic framework around the Indian Ocean, New Delhi is making a new push to seal in its partnerships around the region.

One of the notable outcomes of Michel’s visit to New Delhi was the conclusion of an information exchange pact, aimed at curbing tax evasion and promoting cooperation between Indian and Seychellois authorities. The India-Seychelles pact resembles similar agreements between New Delhi and other states known for their attractiveness as off-shore tax havens.

Michel’s time in New Delhi also resulted in the conclusion of important agreements on defense and security. New Delhi gifted an interceptor coastguard boat and a Dornier surveillance aircraft during Michel’s visit. In 2011, the Indian Navy stationed one Dornier in Seychelles, in addition to a warship and a survey vessel, per a government-to-government agreement, for “exclusive economic zone surveillance and anti-piracy patrols.” The Dornier gift to Seychelles comes after Modi oversaw the launch of the MCGS Barracuda, the first India-manufactured warship built for export, in Mauritius back in March.

Read the full story at The Diplomat

Editorial: When India Almost Intervened in Mauritius

By Ankit Panda

Operation Lal Dora, a 1983 Indian plan to invade Mauritius, sheds light on New Delhi’s thinking about the Indian Ocean.

Operation Lal Dora, a shelved 1983 plan by the Indian government to militarily intervene in the small Indian Ocean island state of Mauritius to prevent a coup, is a fascinating piece of Indian Ocean history and sheds light on how New Delhi thinks about the region. A 2013 paper authored by David Brewster and Ranjit Rai highlights a range of interesting developments in Indian military planning and strategic thinking around the operation, long seen as a perfunctory footnote in India’s Cold War history. Contrary to received wisdom about India’s inability to extricate itself from “non-aligned” thinking during the Cold War, Indira Gandhi’s government was quite ready to apply the levers of hard power against to protect Indian interests. Finally, the episode highlights the embarrassing degree to which the different branches of the Indian armed forces were stove-piped at the time; the Indian Army had no idea what the Navy was up in the planning phase of the operation and vice versa.

Mauritius, with a large Hindu community and geographic proximity to India, is a close partner for New Delhi. The country has long been seen from New Delhi as a “little India” in the Indian Ocean–when Narendra Modi, the current Indian prime minister, visited Port Louis in March as part of a broader Indian Ocean tour, he called it ”Chhota Bharat” (Little India), hearkening back to the term that was made popular by Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the first Indian prime minister to officially visit Mauritius in 1970.

In the early 1980s, though, New Delhi sensed that its special relationship with Mauritius could be threatened by the emergence of a new government that could subvert the interests of the island’s Hindu population in favor of minorities. As Brewster and Rai note, there was concern that policies favored by Paul Berenger, a firebrand pro-Soviet leftist cabinet official in the government of Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth could “favor the Creole and Muslim minorities and potential provoke a refugee exodus by Hindus.”

Read the full story at The Diplomat

Editorial: India, Myanmar Eye Future Defense Cooperation

By Prashanth Parameswaran

A recent visit by Myanmar’s military chief suggests the future promise of defense ties.

This week, Myanmar’s military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing began his much-anticipated four-day visit to India.

On his trip, he and the rest of his high-level military delegation were expected to meet top political and military leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar and Army Chief Dalbir Singh. India-Myanmar border cooperation is expected to dominate discussions during the week, since the visit comes over a month after New Delhi conducted a controversial cross-border raid on insurgent camps (See: “The Truth About India’s Militant Strike in Myanmar”).

But ahead of those talks, the delegation visited Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL). According to sources, they visited the Indian Navy’s local bases and the two sides held wide-ranging discussions on maritime strategy, ship-building and maritime deployment.

Read the full story at The Diplomat

Editorial: Why Washington Is Watching Modi's Moves in the Indian Ocean

Indian Navy Kolkata class Destroyer (Wiki Info - File Photo)

By Jhinuk Chowdhury

India perfectly fits into the role U.S. envisages it playing in the Indian Ocean – that of a net security provider.

If you believe the hype, India is intensifying its ocean diplomacy to counter the growing influence of China in the Indian Ocean. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three-nation visit to Sri Lanka, Seychelles, and Mauritius in March has been seen in this light.

But that doesn’t explain what’s really happening. The power tectonics in the region are not between India and China, but are a result of Beijing hedging against Washington’s presence in the region. In the Indian Ocean, Delhi is increasingly aligning with the role that the U.S. wants it to play — that of a “net security provider.”

The Indian Ocean bears two-thirds of the world’s oil shipments, one-third of its bulk cargo, and half of its container traffic, and serves as a key trade route between East Asia and Europe. Both the U.S. and China have high commercial stakes here. While the U.S. hopes to secure its trade routes across the Indian Ocean, for China, now the world’s largest net oil importer, defending the Malacca Strait is a matter of economic necessity. 

Read the full story at The Diplomat

Editorial: India Unveils New Coastal Surveillance Radar Network

Image: Narendra Modi via Twitter

By Ankit Panda

With an eye on maritime domain awareness, India is investing in coastal surveillance networks.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tour across the Indian Ocean this month was long overdue. Despite its name, the Indian Ocean has not firmly been under India’s custodianship, despite New Delhi’s status as the most capable sea-faring state in the region. During his trip, Modi visited Sri Lanka, Seychelles, and Mauritius — Maldives was struck from his original itinerary after the government there jailed an opposition leader— and addressed defense and security cooperation in each capital.

In concrete terms, Modi’s visit highlighted India’s continuing interest in deploying and maintaining a network of coastal surveillance radars across the region, leading to heightened intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities and maritime domain awareness for the Indian Navy and Coast Guard.

The high point for India’s planned CSR network came during Modi’s one-day visit to Seychelles, where he publicly launched (and posed with) the first of a planned 32 CSR stations in the Indian Ocean. On March 11, Modi tweeted that he had “Unveiled the Plaque and Operationalization of Radar for the CSRS India-Seychelles Cooperation Project,” with an accompanying picture of him attentively operating a radar monitor. The public nature of the CSR deployment highlights India’s eagerness to signal its enduring security interest in the Indian Ocean. 

Read the full story at The Diplomat

Editorial: Narendra Modi’s Active Indian Ocean Diplomacy

By SK Chatterji

The Indian prime minister has recently visited three small but strategically significant Indian neighbors.

The power equations in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) have implications not only for the littoral states but for the entire Asia-Pacific region. Through the Indian Ocean run some of the busiest sea lanes globally, as oil and natural resources traverse from west to east to feed the burgeoning needs of the world’s second largest economy, China, and the country it dislodged from that slot, Japan. By virtue of its size, geographic location, and economic and military potential India is expected to play a leading role in keeping the sea lanes of communication through the Indian Ocean safe for international trade and commerce.

The growing might of the Chinese Navy and its outreach to IOR nations is a concern, one not entirely limited to India. China’s aggressive posture in the South China Sea is shaping regional apprehensions. Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Taiwan, South Korea, Philippines, Singapore, and even Australia and Japan are anxious. Given its assertiveness in the South China Sea, Chinese plans of a Maritime Silk Route ring bells in many a capital.

It’s essential that we grasp the contours of the Maritime Silk Route before we progress further. The route originates from Quanzhou in Fujian province and, after berthing at Hainan, passes through the Malacca Straits to find anchorage at Kolkata, India. The Chinese map makes no mention of Sitwe in Myanmar or Chittagong, Bangladesh as possible stopovers enroute. Beyond Kolkata, the route conspicuously skirts Hambantota, Sri Lanka, a port facility that Mahinda Rajapaksa, the recently ousted Sri Lankan president, was laying open to Chinese interests. The Silk Route continues west and traverses the Red Sea to dock at Athens and thereon to Venice where the confluence of the maritime and land silk routes occur. Gwadar, Pakistan, where the Chinese have built a mammoth deep-sea port, is also ignored.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently undertook a five-day tour of three Indian Ocean countries, displaying an active foreign policy intent after a period of prolonged drift. His ports of call, Seychelles, Mauritius and Sri Lanka, are located strategically in the Indian Ocean region. 

Read the full story at The Diplomat

News Story: India Developing Network of Coastal Radars

A unrelated Coastal Radar Station (File Photo)

By Oscar Nkala

GABORONE, Botswana — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has activated the first of the Indian Navy's planned 32 coastal surveillance radar (CSR) stations in the Seychelles, marking the beginning of the rollout of an Indian-led maritime surveillance project set to have stations in the Seychelles, the Maldives, Mauritius and Sri Lanka.

Modi activated the radar system during his recent tour of the Seychelles as he visited key Indian Ocean region allies in a move some military strategists view as an effort to forge a strong alliance to counter aggressive expansion by the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) in the region since October.

Addressing senior Indian Navy and Seychelles Coast Guard officers during the commissioning, Modi said India's plan includes setting up radar stations in the Seychelles, Mauritius and the Maldives. Negotiations to set up at least 10 more in Sri Lanka are ongoing.

He said the CSRs will improve the operational capabilities of the maritime security forces of partner nations and the overall security of the exclusive economic zones which make up the region's "blue economy."

Read the full story at DefenseNews

Editorial: India's Neighborhood Is Changing -- How Should New Delhi Respond?

By Rohan Joshi

Countries around India are undergoing significant political transformations. Will New Delhi be a beacon of regional stability?

India’s neighborhood is in the midst of significant change. In Sri Lanka, an unlikely coalition with former Minister of Health Maithripala Sirisena defeated Mahinda Rajapaksa in the country’s presidential election in January. In the Maldives, former president Mohamed Nasheed, having been systematically harassed since a de facto coup in 2012, has been sentenced to 13 years in prison and found guilty of terrorism. Afghanistan’s future looks precarious as a unity government led by President Ashraf Ghani attempts to make peace with the Afghan Taliban.

Islamist forces in Bangladesh continue to challenge the secular fabric of the state, resulting in upswing in attacks against Hindu and Buddhist minorities. Those who champion the cause of freedom and tolerance are being silenced, the heinous murder of blogger Avijit Roy earlier this month being but the most recent example.

These transformative events coincide with India having witnessed a gradual but definite attrition of its influence in the region over the last several years. In Sri Lanka, as in the Maldives, years of neglect left a vacuum that was readily filled by China. In Afghanistan, the dithering of past governments resulted in India failing to capitalize on opportunities to further strengthen security cooperation between the two countries, and in the process, bolster Afghanistan’s conventional military and counter-insurgency capabilities. A historic opportunity to move past contentious land and water-sharing issues with Bangladesh was left unrealized as a result of domestic political wrangling with the West Bengal government.

However, there are encouraging signs that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), elected to power last May, understands these challenges and intends to address them. In a significant first step, the NDA demonstrated that it took India’s neighborhood seriously by inviting the leaders of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Mauritius to attend the inauguration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May 2014. 

Read the full story at The Diplomat

Editorial: Modi's Trip and China’s Islands - The Battle for the Indian Ocean

By Darshana M. Baruah

With his Indian Ocean tour, the PM aims to counter Chinese influence among small island nations.

As China continues to draw attention to the South China Sea with its land reclamation and creation of artificial islands, it is also important to look at Chinese activities in the not-so-contentious but strategically important Indian Ocean Region. Beijing, with the help of economic and commercial initiatives, is mapping out a web of influence by increasing its presence in the Indian Ocean. As I argued in a previous article published by The Diplomat, access to and control of the islands in the Indian Ocean is crucial for Beijing to secure its strategic interests in the region.

There are two reasons for China’s expansion into the Indian Ocean. First, some of these islands — such as Kyaukpyu — can prove to be China’s answer to its Malacca Dilemma, strengthening its energy security by reducing its dependence on the Strait of Malacca. Second, an increasing presence in the Indian Ocean is crucial in strengthening Beijing’s role as a key actor in the emerging security architecture in the Indo-Pacific. There is no doubt that China aspires to be a maritime power. Beijing realizes that to be considered as a great power, it must have a role and stake beyond its region — beyond the Western Pacific and throughout the Indo-Pacific.

Having attained a favorable status quo in the Western Pacific, China is now engaging with the island nations of the Indian Ocean through its investments and commercial initiatives. It is through its relationship and investments with these nations that Beijing aims to project itself as a resident power of the Indian Ocean, leading to a greater security role throughout the Indo-Pacific. However, unlike in the Western Pacific, the Indian Ocean is already home to many resident middle powers, wary of China’s unilateral and hostile maritime policies. As a result, the possibility of increased Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean is leading to competition for geostrategic space, especially between India and China. This article looks at the island nations of Sri Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius, and Seychelles, against the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Indian Ocean tour. 

Read the full story at The Diplomat

Editorial: India Gears Up to Tackle China in Its Backyard

By Harsh V. Pant

With Narendra Modi’s tour of three Indian Ocean states this week, New Delhi will renew its commitment to the region.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a three-nation trip this week which will take him to the Seychelles, Mauritius and Sri Lanka – three key Indian Ocean island nations. There were suggestions that the prime minister will be visiting Maldives as well but it was dropped from the itinerary after the arrest and incarceration of the country’s first democratically elected president and current opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed in an expression of India’s disapproval of these moves. Indian Prime Minister is likely to step up his nation’s military and civilian assistance to the Seychelles, Mauritius and Sri Lanka during his visit in an effort to balance China’s growing imprint in the region, which has built highways, power plants, and seaports in these small island nations. India envisages its role as a net security provider in the Indian Ocean region and towards that end it is providing patrol ships, surveillance radars and ocean mapping for the island states.

The visit of the Indian Prime Minister to the nation’s maritime neighbors is reflective of India’s desire to shore up its profile in the Indian Ocean region, a region long considered India’s backyard but where New Delhi’s influence has been eroding slowly but steadily. China has extended a quiet challenge to India’s preeminence in South Asia through diplomatic and aid efforts directed at the small island nations dotting the Indian Ocean. While China, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asian nations fight over specks of islands and reefs in East and South China Sea, mainly because of undersea resources, islands in the Indian Ocean are emerging as a new focus for struggle between China and India.

China has also been busy forging special ties with island nations on India’s periphery including Sri Lanka, Seychelles and Mauritius. China’s attempt to gain a foothold in the Indian Ocean came into view in 2012 when reports emerged of an offer from Seychelles – a strategically located island nation in the Indian Ocean – to China for a base to provide relief and resupply facilities to the People’s Liberation Army Navy. Though promptly denied by Beijing, the offer underscored the changing balance of power in the region. India has traditionally been the main defense provider for Seychelles – providing armaments and training to its Peoples’ Defense Forces, or SPDF. India extended a $50 million line of credit and $25 million grant to Seychelles in 2012 in an attempt to cement strategic ties. The Indian Navy has also been making regular forays into the island nation’s surrounding waters. 

Read the full story at The Diplomat

Think Tank: Australia, India and maritime security

By Anthony Bergin

In a historic address to Parliament in Canberra, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested both countries should collaborate more on maintaining maritime security: ‘We should work together on the seas and collaborate in international forums’. Modi noted that ‘the oceans are our lifelines. But, we worry about its access and security in our part of the world more than ever before’.

He’s spot on: the importance of the Indian Ocean can’t be over-emphasised. Over 55,000 ships transit through the Indian Ocean every year transporting oil, consumer goods and food, reflecting the dependence of nations of the region and beyond on this ocean. So Modi was right to raise the maritime security challenges faced by both countries, particularly the need for protection of sea lines of communication. (These days that includes ensuring global broadband connectivity via the network of undersea cables.)

Both our naval forces are effective, and they aren’t in competition with each other. Common maritime challenges include counter piracy, maritime safety, strengthening port state control, and search and rescue. In his Canberra speech, Modi also singled out the opportunity for both countries to respond to regional disasters: that should include operational aspects between designated coordinating authorities.