New Delhi (Staff Correspondent), November 25: In a development that cannot be overlooked on the canvas of world politics in international waters, last month it was reported that the trans-shipment port project at Gaadhoo Island in Maldives will now be taken forward with India’s involvement.
In a follow-up significant development, the Indian Navy has also extended maintenance services to two coast guard vessels of the Maldivian Coast Guard Ship (MCGS) Huravee and the Mauritius Coast Guard vessel, MCGS Valiant.
This is being done at the request of the governments of both Maldives and Mauritius.
But the move is not being seen as merely an extension of a service.
While it remains a known fact that India is a major economic player in the Indian Ocean and exports to eighteen of the thirty-three countries in the region and imports from several other countries, including Australia, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, it is believed that India continues to expand its military partnership with its maritime neighbors.
India’s involvement in Gaadhoo Island project and then its meinatenance of the Maldivian ship, regardless of the recent political war of words between the two countries that escalated to trade levels, is being looked at by the world powers as India’s dominance in the Indian Ocean region.
Why is it causing concerns for the big global players is because the Indo-Pacific region has the highest trade route in the world. Almost half of all global trade is through the shipping routes in the Indo Pacific region, and there is strong and sustained economic development across the Pacific Rim, Southeast Asia, parts of South Asia, the Gulf region, and the East and Southern coasts of Africa.
Trade wise also, India alone has 12 major ports and over 200 minor ports that handle the majority of India’s maritime trade and the country owns over 30% of the global ship-breaking market share, and is home to the world’s largest ship-breaking facility at Alang.
At the same time, India’s economy largely relies on imports of energy, which are transported by sea. And since the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is vulnerable to threats due to its strategic significance, it is the role of the Indian Navy to protects Indian and foreign merchant ships and shipping routes in the Indian Ocean region.
This not only increases other country’s reliability on India but also gives India a status of dominance in the region that the world wants to rule.
But what are India’s interests in the Maldivian and Mauritian ships?
The MCGS Huravee of Maldives, that is reportedly undergoing extensive refitting at the Naval dockyard in Mumbai was originally commissioned by India in 2016. It was then ceremonially handed over to the Maldives in 2023.
At India’s hands the ship will witness crucial repairs and upgradation of its operational capabilities. Interestingly the cost of repairs and update will also be borne by India.
This initiative that clearly underlines the India and Maldives bilateral and defence cooperation and assistance, also has not remained unnoticed by the global players.
Similarly, Mauritius’s MCGS Valiant was constructed by India at Goa Shipyard in 2017.
As reported, India is readying this vessel for Mauritius for it to be able to assist India more effectively against piracy, smuggling and in its research and rescue initiatives.
But this isn’t it. If we talk of India’s similar involvements, the country has previously gifted two large interceptor boats to Mozambique in 2019, followed by two Fast Interceptor Crafts in January 2022.
Such developments speaks volumes of India being a major player in the Indian Ocean region. Not just that the country’s naval presence has become synonymous to security in this region for its partners but India’s fishing and aquaculture industries also provide employment for millions of people.
Furthermore, India has made strategic investments in the Indian Ocean which have caught international attention, including modernizing facilities in the Andaman Islands and Campbell Bay, and infrastructure development projects in Mauritius and Seychelles.
In a leadership role, India has also launched initiatives to promote free trade, clean energy, and decarbonization in the region. The Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) is a continuation of the Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) initiative, which was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015.
It is therefore because of these collective efforts and initiatives and a friendly approach for all its neighbouring countries including that of Maldives following a brief bitter and patchy tiff, off late, that India’s is not only being seen as a global power in the international waters, specially in the Indo-Pacific region but also as a protector of seas.
Securing global trade, allowing fare and free movement and protecting friendly ships is what marks India’s assistance and dominance at the same time in its international waters.
