The Indian Ocean Policy of the Modi Government
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The Indian Ocean Policy of the Modi Government Shi Hongyuan ince coming to power in May 2014, the Narendra Modi government of India has endeavored to adjust the country’s foreign policy, with the most drastic changes taking place in its Indian SOcean policy. Modi’s strong personality, together with his Bharatiya Janata Party’s majority status in Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s bicameral parliament, helped lay a solid foundation for his brand of Indian Ocean policy. This will not only have implications for the development of India’s maritime strategy, but will also influence India’s interactions with other countries in this region, leading to an inevitable transformation of the Indian Ocean’s geopolitical landscape. Therefore, an in-depth analysis of this topic is of great significance. Visions of Modi’s Indian Ocean Policy Since winning independence from Britain in 1947, India’s policy on the Indian Ocean has been in a state of constant evolution, reflecting both regional and global power struggles. At the beginning of India’s independence when the Indian Ocean was still dominated by the British, India mainly relied upon Britain for protection of its Indian Ocean interests. Only towards the end of 1960s, when Britain withdrew its troops from the east of the Suez Canal, did India begin to pay serious attention to the formation of its Indian Ocean policy. In the wake of Shi Hongyuan is Professor at the Institute for Regional and Country Studies, Henan University. 86 China International Studies The Indian Ocean Policy of the Modi Government the British withdrawal, India, with an aim to fill the power vacuum left by the British, began to actively develop its naval power, supported the Indian Ocean Zone of Peace proposal, and tried to prevent the Indian Ocean from descending into a rivalry arena for the US and the Soviet Union, the two superpowers at that time. Since the end of the Cold War, a prevailing objective for Indian policy strategists has been to restore India’s historical influence in the Indian Ocean region.1 Notwithstanding, this goal never cohered into a vibrant national strategy, as few Indian leaders managed to systematically elaborate on, let alone implement, their Indian Ocean policies.2 However, since the election of Modi as Prime Minister of India, this trend has been reversed. Besides sharing the common goal of shaping India into the dominant power in the Indian Ocean, the Modi government has demonstrated its own characteristic in its visions and measures regarding the future of the Indian Ocean. The Modi government is currently endeavoring to create a favorable maritime environment for the rise of India, shape a benign yet strong image of India to its neighbors, expand India’s influence, and maximize its interests in the region. Towards this end, the Modi government has proposed the following visions for its Indian Ocean policy. Indian Ocean as an important region for India’s diplomacy Owing to its geographic location, previous Indian governments had prioritized South Asia diplomacy, but lacked a clear position on the Indian Ocean. The Modi government is different in that it regards the Indian Ocean as an immediate and extended neighborhood, as well as an important region for India’s diplomacy.3 Modi’s invitation of the President of Mauritius, an island country in the Indian Ocean, to his inauguration ceremony as the only head of state ouside South Asia signaled a change 1 C Raja Mohan, “Modi and the Indian Ocean: Restoring India’s Sphere of Influence,” Insights of Institute of South Asian Studies of National University of Singapore, No.277, March 20, 2015, p.3. 2 Ibid. 3 The International Institute for Strategic Studies (UK), “India’s New Maritime Strategies,” Strategic Comments, Vol.21, No.37, December 2015, p.9. The Indian Ocean Policy of the Modi Government March/April 2018 87 in India’s Indian Ocean policy.4 The Modi government also announced its decision to set up the National Maritime Authority to strengthen the country’s management of Indian Ocean affairs. In addition, Modi’s first trip upon taking office was a visit to Goa to attend the commissioning ceremony of India’s biggest aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, and Mauritius and the Seychelles were designated as India’s neighboring countries by the new Indian Ocean Region Division, which was established under the Ministry of External Affairs in January 2016 with the specific responsibility of dealing with Indian Ocean affairs.5 Each of the above actions reflects the greater importance attached to this region by Modi than his predecessor Manmohan Singh, and illustrates that the Indian Ocean region is now regarded with greater strategic importance within India’s foreign policy.6 Modi’s actions also sent a signal to other Indian Ocean countries that engagement with states in the Indian Ocean would be an important direction for India’s foreign policy in the foreseeable future.7 This policy stance is closely related to India’s heavy reliance on the Indian Ocean where most of its maritime interests converge. India boasts a coast line of 7,517 kilometers, with 193,800 square kilometers of territorial waters that contain 1,200 islands, and an exclusive economic zone of 2.02 million square kilometers. 90% of India’s foreign trade by volume and 70% by value are transported via the Indian Ocean, accounting for more than a third of India’s GDP.8 Aside from economic reliance, India is also concerned about unconventional maritime security threats, especially terrorism, in the Indian Ocean. In the white paper released by the Ministry of Defence in October 2015, titled Ensuring Secure Seas: Indian Maritime Security Strategy, 4 Rajeev Ranjan Chaturvedy, “The Indian Ocean Policy of the Modi Government,” in Sinderpal Singh, Modi and the World: (Re)Constructing Indian Foreign Policy, Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Company, 2017, p.171. 5 Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Annual Report 2015-16, p.18. 6 Rajeev Ranjan Chaturvedy, “The Indian Ocean Policy of the Modi Government,” p. 172. 7 C Raja Mohan, “Modi and the Indian Ocean: Restoring India’s Sphere of Influence,” p.3. 8 Gopal Suri, “India’s Maritime Security Concerns and the Indian Ocean Region,” Indian Foreign Affairs Journal, Vol.11, No.3, July-September 2016, p.247. 88 China International Studies The Indian Ocean Policy of the Modi Government the Modi government defined India’s maritime core interests as follows: “Protect India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity against threats in the maritime environment”; “promote safety and security of Indian citizens, shipping, fishing, trade, energy supply, assets and resources in the maritime domain”; “pursue peace, stability and security in India’s maritime zones, maritime neighborhood and other areas of maritime interest”; and “preserve and protect other national interests in the maritime dimension.”9 This document summarized three reasons for the importance of the Indian Ocean affairs: first, “the sweeping change that the global and regional geo-strategic environment has seen during the period. The shift in worldview from a Euro- Atlantic to an Indo-Pacific focus and the repositioning of global economic and military power towards Asia has resulted in significant political, economic and social changes in the Indian Ocean region and impacted India’s maritime environment in tangible ways”; second, “a considerable change that India’s security-cum-threat calculus has seen during the period. In addition to persisting threats and challenges of the ‘traditional’ nature, India’s maritime security environment has become even more complex and unpredictable today with the expansion in scale and presence of a variety of ‘non-traditional’ threats,” which demanded “a re-evaluation of our maritime security ... including coastal and offshore security”; third, “a national outlook towards the seas and the maritime domain, and a clearer recognition of maritime security being a vital element of national progress and international engagement,” thus India needs to employ “maritime security engagement as a cornerstone for her regional foreign policy initiatives.”10 Corresponding to these changes, this document also expanded India’s scope of maritime interests, which is the most radical departure from the last maritime strategy in 2007. A comparison of the two maritime strategies illustrates several differences. First, the new maritime 9 Indian Navy, Ensuring Secure Seas: Indian Maritime Security Strategy, Naval Strategic Publication, October 2015, p.9, https://www.indiannavy.nic.in/sites/default/files/Indian_Maritime_Security_Strategy_ Document_25Jan16.pdf. 10 Ibid., p.ii. The Indian Ocean Policy of the Modi Government March/April 2018 89 strategy expanded India’s scope of interests in Southeast and West Indian Ocean. India’s sea routes to the Pacific, the East China Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the west coast of Africa were listed as “secondary areas of interest” in the 2015 maritime strategy, while the 2007 strategy listed only littoral regions of Australia and the east coast of Africa under this category. Second, the new maritime strategy elevated the status of some “secondary areas of interest” to “primary areas of interest,” including Southwestern Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. In addition, the new strategy highlighted the status of the Six-Degree Channel and Eight/Nine-Degree Channel in the Indian Ocean, and included the Mandeb Strait and the Mozambique Channel as “choke points.”11 The strategy also placed special emphasis on the severity of non-traditional security threats and the necessity of unimpeded utilization of the sea. To summarize, this new strategy reflects the maritime ambition of the Modi government, and serves as a guide for future management of maritime affairs and development of naval forces. Responsibility to advance SAGAR in the Indian Ocean With five central components, the initiative of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) was first proposed by Modi in March 2015.