India’s Indo-Pacific outlook aims at having free, open, peaceful, and navigable region. In order to attain that objective, India needs to secure the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). India’s central location in the Indian Ocean provides it an uninterrupted access to the 40 rim nations of the IOR.
The first plan of action by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after getting re-elected for a third-term has been to revitalize India’s strategic partnerships with island nations of the IOR under the Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) Vision. It can be inferred that Modi wants to reaffirm India’s role as a net security provider in the region.
A recently concluded two-day visit by India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar to Mauritius was a crucial step in advancing India’s SAGAR Vision. He was in Mauritius to inaugurate India’s first overseas Jan Aushadhi Kendra, a pharmacy that sells affordably priced generic medications. Along with that Jaishankar and Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth also launched “12 India-assisted High Impact Community Development Projects.”
After being reappointed as the foreign minister, Mauritius was one of the first five nations visited by Jaishankar, highlighting its role in India’s geostrategic calculus. Mauritius has significant historical ties with India and a substantial Indian origin population. It is located in the Western Indian Ocean, a geostrategically important area from an Indian viewpoint.
The underlying motive for India’s renewed focus on its IOR partners can be traced back to Maldivian President Mohammed Muizzu’s pro-China policy and “India-out” election campaign, which eventually led to a fallout between both the countries. China’s increasing closeness to the Indian Ocean nations and its activities in the IOR are not new. Although, Beijing’s rising engagement with island nations of the IOR has challenged India’s primacy in the region. New Delhi’s approach is to fill the strategic gaps through partnerships in economic, defense, and security domains, which are the bedrock of the SAGAR initiative.
SAGAR
The SAGAR Vision was first announced by Modi in 2015, while commissioning the Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) Barracuda, built by India for the National Coast Guard of Mauritius. Modi highlighted that India’s benign approach toward its maritime neighbors is rooted in advancing cooperation and using its capabilities to benefit all of the IOR. The top priority of the Indian government has been to safeguard the IOR from any major power competition and to maintain “safe, secure, and stable Indian Ocean Region that delivers us all to the shores of prosperity.”
Though the SAGAR Vision is not a policy document, it is a repeated mantra driving India’s foreign policy. India has carried out a series of actions to protect the “blue ocean economy,” while strengthening economic and maritime security capabilities. Moreover, under this approach, India will cooperate with its maritime neighbors on information sharing and coastal surveillance, as well as providing support in building infrastructure and maritime capabilities. It is further committed to deliver humanitarian aid and disaster relief to its neighbors in the IOR.
India is looking beyond its traditional domain of near seas by prioritizing responsibility sharing and capacity building in the Indo-Pacific. Its calibrated response to uplift the island nations of the Indian Ocean is largely viewed positively. The Indian administration now appears more confident and mindful in understanding that smaller nations have their own concerns and policy objectives.
By strengthening its maritime domain capabilities under SAGAR, India is geared to expand its strategic engagements with the members of Indian Ocean Rim Association, especially in the western Indian Ocean. India’s activities in Mauritius are perhaps the best example.
India and Mauritius
Apart from being a significant partner in the SAGAR Vision, Mauritius is an important part of India’s “Neighborhood First Policy” and Africa Forward Initiative. It was the first African nation to sign a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) with India.
Jaishankar’s visit to the island nation from July 16-17 marked a significant turn in India’s Indian Ocean strategy. India’s increasing bonhomie with Mauritius is an indication that in the coming years it is going to be an important player in the changing security landscape of the IOR.
Keeping the SAGAR Vision at its core, there has been growing strategic convergence between India and Mauritius on traditional and nontraditional security challenges. Traditionally seen as the first responder in times of crisis, India is known for its humanitarian aid and assistance and its crisis management leadership. During the Wakashio oil spill, India brought 30 tonnes of technical equipment and material along with a Technical Response Team. Moreover, during the COVID-19 pandemic India supplied 13 tonnes of medicines with an Indian Rapid Response Medical Team, which was followed by India’s gift of 100,000 Covishield vaccines.
China is aiming to advance its footprints in the IOR. China’s first overseas naval base in Djibouti and its increasing closeness with Maldives has led India to step up ties with Mauritius beyond the traditional partnership. In 2021, India extended a $100 million line of credit for Mauritius to procure defense products. This year in March both nations jointly inaugurated an upgraded airstrip and a jetty on two islands of Agalega, which will enhance India’s maritime domain awareness and outreach in the western and southern Indian Ocean. The upgraded airstrip can operate P-8 Poseidon maritime reconnaissance aircraft along with the Dornier aircraft, enabling India to keep an eye on Chinese activities.
Conclusion
The core objective of the SAGAR vision is to have inclusive development joining economic assistance and maritime security concerns on a common platform, while respecting the international maritime laws and norms. The purpose of this initiative is to back institutional assistance by making India a facilitator rather than an enforcer, by empowering smaller IOR nations against the rising traditional and nontraditional security challenges in the longer-run. It can be said that India is listening to its partners’ concerns. New Delhi has been more careful to project its power while handling regional bilateral cooperation on traditional and nontraditional security aspects. SAGAR is the beginning of a new strategic era, with India increasingly incentivizing capacity building programs and developmental assistance to fortify its strategic presence across the IOR.
New Delhi has realized that India is better positioned to pursue its national security objectives by partnering with its regional countries, which will turn into a robust partnership if they are guided by a shared belief like SAGAR. Keeping that in mind, India is extensively working with nations like Mauritius that share similar concerns.
Economic integration along with maritime security have been the driving factors for IOR nations to form partnerships, but a lack of collective will and leadership against the rising traditional and nontraditional security threats has hampered overall development of the region. Moreover, the absence of a holistic view on the IOR has given a way to major power competition. Having said that, the SAGAR initiative has brought maritime challenges to the core of India’s engagement with littoral nations.