India and the Indian Ocean — Economic, Political and National Security Imperatives
Post-independence, none of India’s Prime Ministers including Sh. Jawaharlal Nehru, have given much strategic significance to the IOR, and missed creating a strategic advantage in the region. The relative decline of US’s pre-eminence in the region has now created the opportunity for countries like India, China and Japan to build a strong foothold over this region and develop it to their strategic advantage. Building strong law and policy frameworks for ensuring sustainable growth along with a strategic security architecture is the need of the hour. This should be a national priority for two key reasons — 1. The blue economy offers immense potential for creating an economic impetus for India & 2. To counter China’s increased impetus on building trade and naval capability in the IOR.
Pursuing a policy of engagement in the Indian Ocean region (IOR), the Indian Prime Minster Sh. Narendra Modi stated in March 2015, while commissioning the Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) Barracuda in Mauritius, “To me, the blue chakra or wheel in India’s National Flag represents the potential of Blue Revolution or the Ocean Economy. That is how central the Ocean Economy is to us”. This renewed focus of the Indian government on building its capabilities and relationships in the IOR is critical for the security and economic growth of India.
For development experts, ocean based ‘blue economy’ is a contemporary idea that helps optimize and utilize ocean resources in a balanced manner for socio-economic development. It is based on the idea of the ‘ocean as a resource’ wherein use of local resources are promoted enabling sustainable development and addressing issues of scarcity of resources (3). The countries in the IOR are not economically integrated and are at different levels of development, offering immense possibility for trade and co-operation.
The Ocean policy outlined by New Delhi and nomenclatured as “SAGAR — Security and Growth for All in the Region” includes strengthening maritime capabilities, safeguarding mainland and the surrounding islands. It will help India build a secure regional architecture in the IOR. Given their location in the IOR, augmenting naval and trade capacities in Lakshadweep as well as Andaman Nicobar Islands could provide India with unparalleled advantage towards the ‘SAGAR” agenda.
The Indian Ocean borders four continents — Asia, Africa, Australia and Antarctica; and is an integral link between the eastern and western parts of the world. The littoral states of Indian Ocean possess roughly 35 percent of the world’s natural gas; more than two third of the world’s oil reserves; 40 per cent gold; 60 percent uranium and 80 percent of the world’s diamonds. It is an important route for transport of crude oil to East Asia, Europe and North America among other commodities like iron, tea, coal and rubber (2). In an era where global shipping has grown exponentially, the Indian Ocean is positioned to be in the crossroads of global trade. It connects major players of International economy in Asia Pacific and Northern Atlantic and unimpeded ‘sea lines of communication’ (SLOCs) or maritime highways in the Indian Ocean are critical for Europe’s economy.
The Indian Ocean is emerging as one of the critical regions in global geopolitics, and both India and China are seen as vying for strategic advantage in this region. As a ‘pivotal zone of strategic competition’ (5), control over the Indian Ocean can provide any state with dominion over one-third of the globe, therefore China is aggressively increasing its presence through strategic investments in the region.
As the largest player in this region, India is also increasingly stepping up its presence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and collaborating with the other countries to build economic strength as well as address geo-political risks. For the swearing in of PM Modi’s second term in office, India strategically chose to invite the heads of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) countries, displaying an increase in diplomacy and mutual understanding for improved economic and political ties in the IOR. This is an attempt to establish India as a driver of regional economic growth and arrest China’s increasing influence.
India is growing increasingly concerned about the investments that China is making in countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka with ports and locations where it can set up naval facilities — a ‘String of Pearls’ metaphor that provides it strategic uninterrupted access in the IOR. However, India is also expanding its capabilities in the region and activating possible security partnerships to the maximum extent possible. Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the Maldives, as his first visit to any country during his second term ties in with the country’s aim to consolidate its vision as a leading player in the Indian Ocean region.
Countries like the United States, France and Australia are also looking at having a greater say in maritime strategies developing in the IOR. In addition, they are looking at expanding co-operation in the areas of disaster management and relief as well as fighting drug smuggling and piracy. Issues of unregulated migration, piracy and presence of militant/terrorist groups in Somalia, Pakistan, parts of Indonesia and Bangladesh pose significant security challenges to countries in the Indian Ocean. Coastal degradation, pollution, over-fishing, climate change are having a huge negative impact on the region and requires the various players to come together for a concerted strategy for sustainable development of the Indian Ocean. India has the potential to lead these changes given its location in the IOR.
The Indian Ocean also offers climactic advantages to the region, giving South India its moderate climate and bringing in rain with the South-West monsoon, in addition to immense bio-diversity and coastal vegetation. Fishery, both for domestic and international consumption, offers a huge business possibility to this region.
An increasingly important feature of India’s naval diplomacy is its strategy of engaging the littorals states in the Indian Ocean; along with modernization and expansion of its naval capabilities. India needs to look at few key areas to consolidate its presence in the IOR. The state should ensure it can harness the Indian ocean and its coastline to power a blue economy; work with a united spirit of growth and security for all in the IOR; establish effective partnerships with external powers present in this region and achieve speed and efficiency in its Maritime Capability Perspective Plan (MCPP), as well as implement robust maritime diplomatic ties with countries in this region.
References:
1. Qamar Fatima & Asma Jamshed; 2015; The Political and Economic Significance of the Indian Ocean — An Analysis
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9ba6/c8b2ad5a78bb30bd7741b87ea59823ef3a96.pdf
2. Eleanor Albert; 2016; Competition in the Indian Ocean
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/competition-indian-ocean
3. Hamant Maini and Lipi Budhraja; 2017; Ocean Based Blue Economy- An insight into SAGAR as last growth frontier
https://niti.gov.in/content/ocean-based-blue-economy-insight-sagar-last-growth-frontier
4. Abhishek Mishra & Gayatri Aiyar; 2019: Can the western Indian Ocean region be a game changer for India
5. Craig Jeffery; 2019: The Indian Ocean is now at the heart of Global Geopolitics\
https://qz.com/india/1523784/the-indian-ocean-is-now-at-the-heart-of-global-geopolitics/
