THE UNIVERSITY OF HULL SECURITY PROBLEMS OF SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES (SIDS) (with particular reference to the Indian Ocean) being a Thesis submitted for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the University of Hull by FARAHANAZ FAIZAL, BA (Keele), MPhil (Cantab.) February, 1996 Dedicated to Hon. Ali Umar Maniku (with all my gratitude) CONTENTS Acknowledgements Abbreviations 1. Introduction 2. Chapter I - Smallness and Security of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) - The international interest in small states - Problems of defining small states - Security paradigms - Contemporary thinking on security - The concept of security in relation to SIDS 3. Chapter II - Vulnerability - Identifying vulnerabilities - Islanciness and SIDS - Weakness, openness and dependence of SIDS - Summary 4. Chapter III - The threat scenario (with insights into the Caribbean and the South Pacific) - Identifying threats - Military threats - Political threats - Economic threats - Societal threats - Environmental threats - Conclusion I 5. Chapter IV - The security environment of the Indian Ocean - Background - Superpowers in the Indian Ocean - The Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace - Other powers in the Indian Ocean - Regional Organisations - Current Trends 6. Chapter V - Case Study: the Maldives - Background - Perception of security problems - Providing security in the Maldives - Military resources - Political capabilities - Economic resources - Human resources - Environmental resources - Contemporary Problems - Threats: potential, latent and manifest - Conclusion 7. Chapter VI- Case Study: the Seychelles - Background - Perception of security problems - Providing security in the Seychelles - Military resources - Political capabilities - Economic resources - Human resources - Environmental resources - Contemporary Problems - Threats: potential, latent and manifest - Conclusion 8. Chapter VII- Case Study: Mauritius - Background - Perception of security problems - Providing security in Mauritius - Military resources - Political capabilities - Economic resources - Human resources - Environmental resources - Contemporary Problems - Threats: potential, latent and manifest - Conclusion 9. Chapter VIII - The Indian Ocean security matrix (threats, vulnerabilities, strategies and responses in a comparative context) - Threats and Vulnerabilities - The national dimension - The regional dimension - The international dimension - Strategies and Responses - Self-help - Patron-client methods - Regional measures - International measures - Conclusion III 10. Chapter IX - Conclusion Appendices and Bibliography IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to offer my thanks and praise to Allah. I also wish to acknowledge the assistance and the guidance of the following: Firstly, my sincere gratitude to Hon. Ali Umar Maniku who supported me financially through out my years of higher education in Britain. Without his kind assistance I would have never been able to reach this level and to him I will be indebted forever. I also owe my deepest gratitude and sincere appreciation to Dr. Paul Sutton, my supervisor, without whose patient and efficient supervision I would not have been able to complete this thesis. I would also like to thank H.E. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the President of the Maldives, for kindly granting me leave from the President's Office to carry out this research. I am also grateful to Ms. Aneesa Ahmed, the Director of Foreign Relations at the President's Office for all her assistance and also to the officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives, especially to the former Director of International Affairs, Mr. Abdulla Shahid. I am also indebted to Mr. Ahmed Latheef at the SAARC Secretariat for his kind assistance. Further, I would also like to extend my gratitude to H.E. Babooram Mahadoo, High Commissioner of Mauritius in London and the officials at the High Commission for the information on Mauritius. Similar appreciation goes to the H.E. John P. Mascarenhas, the High Commissioner of the Seychelles in London and his staff. The officials of the Commonwealth Secretariat gave me tremendous assistance. The list of those who have helped me in my research is rather long but I have to mention Mr. John Purvis at the Seychelles Polytechnic and Mr. Ahmed Khaleel at the Maldivian Mission at the UN. I would also like to thank the following people: Sato for the laptop; Mr. Adam Hassan, for all his assistance; and to Brian Pryce and Shamla Ali for letting me stay with them during my numerous research trips to London. I would also like to sincerely thank my family, especially my mother for all the love and support I received, and also my brothers, Ibrahim and Ameen Faizal and my sister Shuwey. I would also like to extend my appreciation to my in-laws for all their moral support, especially to my 'sister' Maria whose numerous trips to Hull broke the monotony of burying myself in books. Last but not the least, my special thanks go to Didi, my husband, who was the main inspiration behind this research. He has supported me through out my research years in England and had sacrificed so much in giving up his medical practice to come and stay with me in Britain. Without his devoted support, especially during difficult periods in the last three and a half years I would not have been able to complete my research. To him I owe everything. VI ABBREVIATIONS ADSU Anti-Drug Special Unit ANZUS Treaty between Australia, New Zealand and the United States AOSIS Alliance of Small Island States ASEAN Association of South East Asian Nations BIOT British Indian Ocean Territory CAM Comite d'Action Musulman CARICOM Caribbean Community CBMs Confidence Building Measures DOM Departement d'Outre Mer DWFN Distant Water Fishing Nations EEC European Economic Community EEZ Exclusive Economic Zone EPZ Export Processing Zone FAC Fast Attack Craft GDP Gross Domestic Product GNP Gross National Product IFB Independent Forward Block IOC Indian Ocean Commission 'OS Indian Ocean Small Island Developing States IOZP Indian Ocean Zone of Peace IPCC Inter-governmental Panel on Climatic Change IPKF Indian Peace Keeping Force MLP Mauritian Labour Party MMM Mauritian Militant Movement MSM Mouvement Socialiste Mauricien NSS National Security Service OAU Organisation of African Unity VII OECS Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States OPV Offshore Patrol Vessel PLOTE People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam PMSD Parti Mauricien Socialiste Democrate PNG Papua New Guinea PSM Parti Socialiste Mauricien SAARC South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation SDP Seychelles Democratic Party SIDS Small Island Developing States SPEC South Pacific Bureau for Economic Co-operation SPPF Seychelles Peoples Progressive Front SPUP Seychelles Peoples United Party SWAPO South West Africa Peoples Organisation UNCED United Nations Conference on Environment and Development UNCLOS United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea UNCTAD United Nations Convention on Trade and Development UNDP United Nations Development Program UNEP United Nations Environment Programme LTNITAR United Nations Institute for Training and Research WHO World Health Organisation VIII INTRODUCTION "A standing army? We don't even have a sitting army", H.E. Hussain Manilcufan, The Permanent Representative (former) of the Maldives to the UN, when asked about the strength of the country's armed forces.1 In a world where all states are seemingly equal on the basis of their sovereignty, all states are expected to participate as equal members of the international community. In this respect, Small Island Developing States or SIDS are no different. However, in their attempt to find footage in the international arena they often have to confront special problems and difficulties, especially with regard to security concerns. These issues were, nevertheless, relegated to the background of independence and there was no acceptance that these SIDS needed special attention to their problems. It is only fairly recently that the international community has placed the dilemmas faced by these states on its agenda and seriously addressed the problems of their smallest members. It was the US invasion of Grenada that first highlighted the vulnerability of these states and brought the issue on to the forefront of international politics. Since then they have become the subject of various types of research from their developmental problems to their military vulnerability. However, most of the research undertaken concentrates on the SIDS of the Caribbean and the South Pacific. This is no surprise as most of the world's SIDS are located in these two regions. However, there are four SIDS located in the Indian Ocean: Comoros, the Maldives, Mauritius and the Seychelles. As far as I am aware there has been no research undertaken on the security of the SIDS in this region. Therefore, the focus of this research will be on the SIDS of the Indian Ocean. It attempts to identify and assess the various security problems confronted by the SIDS of the Indian Ocean and the strategies and responses that are available to them to achieve a measure of security. This thesis however, concentrates on only three of the Indian Ocean SIDS. Quoted in Asiaweek 18 November 1988, p.38 Research on Comoros had to be sacrificed at an early stage due to the lack of material available in Britain. Furthermore, due to financial reasons, research on the security problems of Mauritius and the Seychelles had to be restricted to Britain. Nevertheless, extensive interviews were carried out with the officials