“Maritime boundaries are not mere lines on a map, these are the lifelines of nations, channels, through which commerce flows, connecting economies and fostering growth.”
Jagdeep Dhankar, Vice President Of India
Image Credit: Council on Foreign Relation
India boasts a rich maritime heritage that goes back over 4000 years, notably to the 4th century BCE, a period marked by significant advancements in trade and navigation. The Sanskrit term 'Navagati,' meaning sea travel, underscores the ancient roots of navigation in Indian culture. Indian folklore, ancient Indian texts, and Buddhist Jatakas, all allude to the maritime prowess of the Indus Valley Civilization, with ports like Mohenjodaro, Lothal, and Harappa playing a crucial role in facilitating trade between ancient India and regions such as Africa, Arabia, Mesopotamia, and the Mediterranean. Then, during the 16th and 18th century CE, the entry of European powers such as the Portuguese, Dutch, British, and French, with their superior 'blue water' (open seas and oceans) naval capabilities, started to pose challenges to the 'brown water' (internal navigable rivers, estuaries) coastal navies of Indian kingdoms. This period marked the onset of a new era characterised by the militarisation of maritime power, illustrating the dynamic interplay between Indigenous maritime forces and European colonial powers in India's maritime engagement trajectory.
The Maritime Power of a nation, a pillar of its national security, “is the ability of a nation to use the seas to safeguard and progress its national interests” through military, economic, and diplomatic power. This implies that maritime power cannot be solely evaluated as a military calculation expressed through the naval power, but also includes “value of maritime trade as a percentage of national economic output; dependence on overseas resource supply; total manpower engaged in shipping; offshore economic interests – including oil and gas, fishing, renewable energy installations; shipyards, docks and ports; and all other sea-related economic activity ashore.” Therefore, besides strengthening its navy, whose raison d’être is to safeguard the nation’s territorial integrity against seaward challenges, India also focuses on sustainably strengthening maritime trade and commerce.
PROJECT SEABIRD
In 1986, the Indian Navy conceived its largest naval infrastructure project under the code name ‘Seabird’ to develop the Karwar Naval Base, located strategically about 120 km from Panjim, Goa, on the west coast of India, in 2 phases. Upon its completion, this 3 billion dollar project will be India’s largest and the world’s largest naval base east of the Suez Canal, enhancing India's naval presence and protecting its strategic interest in the Indian Ocean region. The Karwar Naval Base also boasts of India’s largest aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya.
Image Credit: Manorma Yearbook
The first phase of Project Seabird concluded in 2011. It included a breakwater, a pier capable of berthing ten ships, a 10,000-ton ship lift and dry berth, a naval ship repair yard, logistics and armament storage facilities, and accommodation for 1,000 personnel. The Cabinet Committee on Security has also approved Phase-IIA of the project, including berthing facilities for 32 ships, submarines, and 23 yardcraft. The marine works in this phase will provide berthing space of more than 6 kilometres, technical facilities, electrical substations, switch gears, and support utilities. The project Seabird furthers India’s determination to bolster its maritime presence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and act as a net security provider in the IOR besides fostering economic growth in the region.
TACKLING BELLIGERENT CHINA
China, the world’s second-largest economy, has au fait with geoeconomics. With its debt trap diplomacy, Belt and Road Initiative, and Pearl of Strings strategy, it is establishing significant control over the Indo-Pacific. In alignment with QUAD, India aims to tackle the ‘Dragon’, speedily spreading its wings and devouring the Indian Ocean region. The Indian Ocean accounts “for over one-third of the world’s bulk cargo traffic and two-thirds of the world’s oil shipments, ensuring global access to food, precious metals, and energy resources.” thereby crowning the country that controls the Indian Ocean and intensifying the Sino-Indian maritime rivalry.
To contain China’s bellicosity in oceans and strengthen its maritime security, India has launched initiatives like the Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) concept and Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) for maritime security and align them with the objectives of QUAD. In fact, India’s focus on the Indo-Pacific symbolises a significant shift from Act East to Act Indo-Pacific.
Further, in this direction, to prevent belligerent China from establishing hegemony over the Indian Ocean, India's Double Fish Hook Strategy, with the help of its allies The United States, Australia and France, is a tactical initiative. The Eastern Indian Ocean is crossed by one of the fish hooks. It begins in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, goes to Indonesia's Sabang port, and continues to Australia's Cocos (Keeling) Islands. The Diego Garcia US military installation in the Chagos islands is where the tip of this fish hook lands. The second hook also has to do with the Western Indian Ocean. It starts at the Duqm port in Oman and continues to the French colonies on Reunion Island and other island groups like Mauritius. Again, this will come to an end at Diego Garcia. Connecting the ports resembles a fish hook. From a geopolitical lens, the whole of trade in the Indian Ocean region is controlled by “four narrow gateways: The Strait of Hormuz, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Malacca Strait, and the Mozambique channel” among which the Strait of Malacca, between the Malay peninsula and Indonesia, connecting the Indian Ocean with the Pacific Ocean is of utmost importance for through it a significant bulk of Chinese goods and oil passes through for trade purposes with Africa, Europe and Middle East. Blocking these straits, especially the Malacca Strait, can significantly disrupt the Chinese economy.
TRADE AND COMMERCE
India’s saga with trade and navigation grew significantly in the 4th Century BCE. Over time, trade and naval expeditions gradually enhanced India's religious and cultural tapestry, beginning with voyages to Southeast Asia. Today, it’s no surprise that the global trade anchors on the gift of marine craft. With time, shipping has emerged as a giant trading industry. Moving over 95% of its goods traded to other countries by merchant ships, the shipping industry has become integral to India's economic growth. In an era defined by complex interconnectedness, professions in maritime have been offering lucrative opportunities, and India has emerged as a significant contributor to the global marine workforce, providing 9.35% of seafarers worldwide. India ranks third in terms of large seafarers supplying nations to the world maritime industry and 18th in maritime trading volume.
The country focuses on “Port-led industrialisation, " which optimises logistic costs by placing industries near ports and increasing exports and imports' efficiency. The $1 trillion of India’s total annual foreign trade, 95 per cent by volume and about 70 per cent by value, passes through the Indian Ocean, complements the 80 per cent of oil imports and 60 percent of LNG imports, which are seaborne. Initiatives like the Sagarmala project (a visionary approach underscoring India’s vision of “ Ports for Prosperity” through optimising logistics, improving port efficiency, and promoting coastal community development) and PM Gati Shakti (a transformative approach to provide integrated and seamless connectivity “ for the movement of people, goods, and services from one mode of transport to another”) are working towards capacity development programs, which will help make strides in the shipping industry. "Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, has remarked, “Be it port development, shipbuilding, creation of a pool of quality seafarers or ship recycling, India is on its way to becoming a global maritime leader soon.”
GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES
Realising the need for strategic dominance over the Indian Ocean region and strengthening its maritime posture, India has actively started investing and initiating partnerships with the littoral nations and island nations across the region. For instance, as part of its commitment to the region, in 2021, India extended a $100-million line of credit to Mauritius for security and military spending. Besides helping Sri Lanka to revive its economy and distance itself from the Chinese camp, in 2022, India signed a memorandum of understanding with Sri Lanka to establish a Maritime Rescue Coordination Center under the SAGAR initiative. India has emerged as a significant economic player in the Indian Ocean for its exports to eighteen of the thirty-three countries in the region and imports from several other countries, including Australia, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Further, India has consistently invested in the Maldives for development and security purposes.
In 2021, a $50 million deal with Maldives to support its coastguard development and other security infrastructure. However, the current Maldivian President, Mohammad Muizzi, inclined to the Chinese camp, has been engaged in anti-India campaigns and sent back the Indian troops from the island, giving a blow to the Indian maritime interests. Maldives' pivotal position in the marine landscape in the Arabian Sea, near the Lakshadweep, has attracted the Chinese who wanted to dock their ships there and conduct oceanic surveys but were apprehensive about the disturbance and interference by the Indian ships and hydrographic operations. Maldives' uncalculated decision to extend a hand of friendship to the People’s Republic of China may cost it a fortune, for China debt trap diplomacy is a tour de force.
Further, because of its geographical location near the Strait of Malacca, the government has initiated plans to develop the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as a base for Joint Command Services, including the Navy, Army, and Air Force. In 2019, a military infrastructure development plan worth ₹5,650 crore was finalised to bolster the capacity of the Andaman and Nicobar Command, allowing for the deployment of additional military forces, warships, aircraft, missile batteries, and infantry soldiers on the islands. This provides a potential rendezvous point for QUAD operations. Moreover, the SOSUS network of Japan and the USA for detecting submarines has also touched the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, making India its new partner. As India advances with its Viswamitra initiative, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh opined how India resolves to be “the First Responder and the Preferred Security Partner in the Indian Ocean Region” and work “for the peace, stability and prosperity of the wider Indo-Pacific.”
CONCLUSION
Since time immemorial, India has realised the potential of the ginormous Indian Ocean that envelopes it. Today, it heavily relies on the ocean for “commercial and non-commercial shipping, energy transportation, trade, tourism, fishing and oil and gas reserves”. It is, therefore, critical to establish a robust presence in the Indo-Pacific region, which has been identified as a top priority. This underscores India's position as a primary responder and security provider to its allies and partners in the region, encompassing the entire expanse of the Indian Ocean from the eastern coast of Africa to the Andaman. Developing a Blue economy and strengthening India‘s strategic approach to the maritime domain has been given significant focus in India’s Maritime Amrit Kal Vision 2047, which involves an investment of 80,000 lakh crores. The Amrit Kal Vision underlines efforts to realise India’s quantum leap in the Global Maritime sector with more than 300 actionable projects on themes like “leading the world in the safe, sustainable and green maritime sector, becoming a Global player in shipbuilding, repairing and recycling, promoting ocean, coastal, river cruise sector and enhancing efficiency through technology and innovation to propel the nation’s journey in becoming strong, inclusive and self-reliant”.
Besides the Chinese trying to expand their control from the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean, the threat of Houthi rebels to Indian commercial vessels lately has also been troubling Indian maritime interests amidst the Israel-Hamas conflict. This has brought to the forefront the attack by drones and missiles and hijack attempts by pirates on Indian and foreign vessels, whether by Somalian pirates or the Houthis. Abhijit Singh, a former naval officer, precisely puts the dilemma faced by India by shedding light on how India is walking a tightrope when it tries to avoid active participation in the Red Sea conflict led by the politically backed groups and instead focuses on “combating pirates in the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea by deploying guided missile cruisers, marine patrol aircraft, and drones to monitor commercial shipping in the area.”
Image Credit: Balanced Report
The advent of globalisation and increased trade interdependence has transformed the world into an interconnected marketplace. The simple, age-old adage- “Sea connects, and land divides” symbolises how oceans have connected people across time and space. While this has greatly benefited the national economy, the geostrategic location of the Indian peninsula also presents many oceanic challenges like maritime terrorism (26/11 Attack), narco-terrorism, gunrunning, smuggling, piracy, illegal fishing, human trafficking, etc., which the Indian Navy is tackling, thereby painting India as an emerging superpower ensuring the peace and stability of the region. Alfred Thayer Mahan, one of the world's greatest naval historians and geopolitical-strategist once said, “Whoever controls the Indian Ocean will dominate Asia, the destiny of the world will be decided on its waters.’’ underscoring the importance of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) in the global politics. India has to leverage its strategic location to be a formidable maritime power. It should have the upper hand in exercising control over IOR by containing China, improving its marine infrastructure and trade, strengthening its naval power, and exercising significant control over important choke points like the Straits of Malacca, Straits of Hormuz, Bab el Mandeb, and Ombai and Wetar Straits. India must foster relationships and collaborate with like-minded partners to steer through the oceanic challenges and prevent the hegemony of one nation over waters.
By: Kabyaa Nayak
The author is a third-year Political Science student at Hindu College. She has a special interest in International affairs.
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