INDIA’S MARITIME SECURITY STRATEGY IN THE INDIAN OCEAN REGION
sarabjeet parmar2024, NatStrat
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India's maritime security strategy in the IOR operates under the vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and engages nations and their maritime forces under cooperative mechanisms that stem from existing bilateral and multilateral organisations and understandings. The central focus of these engagements, which are based on inclusivity, is on non-traditional threats that threaten the stability, security and peace of the region. Further, central to these structures and frameworks, is a common thread that seeks to address threats, challenges and risks arising from the maritime domain while maximising on the cooperative opportunities that arise as part of the addressal mechanism.
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CREATING A STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK FOR MARITIME SECURITY COOPERATION IN THE INDIAN OCEAN REGION
ABSTRACT In the new century global super power and influential nations have put their interest on India Ocean Region (IOR) due to its vast growth in strategic importance in geo political, natural resources, commercial and security aspect. However, it is facing a risk of growing strategic competition mainly between India and China. Amidst such developments Western powers particularly America exhibits an extensive interest and influence in the region. Nevertheless, risk of interstate conflict, terrorism, illegal fishing, and smuggling, human trafficking, gun running, drug trafficking, natural disasters, sea level rising, climatic changes etc. and many traditional and non-traditional security threats are evident in the IOR. Therefore, IOR states have understood the necessity of a strategic frame work for maritime security cooperation. In this regard considerable efforts are being made by the regional countries. Since most of the countries are under developing and strangled with internal political upheaval the efforts lack significant momentum. Consequently, some conflicts have global implications. This situation presents many threats to IOR to withstand and make a strong regional organisation. However, now Indian Ocean security is no longer domain in colonial states or super powers. Today India and China has become a regional power and they are acting as developing their domination and influence over Indian Ocean. Nevertheless current global realities has introduces new maritime security issues as non-state actors are influencing the security in the region directly. Therefor this is serious issue in IOR in terms of maritime security and trade concern.
Maritime Security in the Indian Ocean: Convergence Plus Cooperation Equals Resonance
The post-Cold War period has witnessed significant maritime developments. The intensification of trade-linked development and entering into force of Laws of the Seas in 1994 led to state interests being increasingly identified with the seas in terms of freedom of navigation and ocean resources, thus making maritime issues a major subset of national security. Events leading to 9/11 saw the addition of an amorphous dimension to existing threats, thus expanding the ambit of maritime security. While the scope of this paper is restricted to the northern Indian Ocean, globally, the Indian Ocean holds the maximum stakes in terms of vital resources and sea-lines; yet coincidentally, is also the most imperilled, especially in terms of asymmetric threats. India, an emerging power in the region, can assume the responsibility to address these threats through a proactive approach and convergence of interests with regional maritime players.
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Centre for Research on Strategic and Security Issues
The Indian Ocean
and its Littorals
Editors: Prateek Kapil & Siddhant Hira
GEOPOLITICS
June 2024
SECURITY
TECHNOLOGY & ECONOMY
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INDIA’S MARITIME SECURITY
STRATEGY IN THE INDIAN
OCEAN REGION
Captain Sarabjeet S Parmar (Retd)
Indian and international naval officers at Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) Maritime Exercise 2023
(IMEX-23), Bangkok. | Indian Ministry of Defence.
Introduction
position of stability and trust while negotiating to
shed the tag of ‘regional hegemon’.3
For a maritime nation like India, its conception
of maritime security of the Indian Ocean Region
(IOR) and specifically, its approach to maritime
security has a long historical legacy.1 In 1946, KM
Panikkar had stated that “Unless India is
prepared to stand forth and shoulder the
responsibility of peace and security in the Indian
Ocean, her freedom will mean but little”, and that
“India's future therefore is closely bound up with
the strength she is able to develop gradually as a
naval power.”2
Over time, several shibboleths were
shed as India’s strategic outlook
evolved and the aspect of India’s
maritime security was perhaps
guided by K Subrahmanyam’s
argument that “diplomacy and
military
power
are
mutually
reinforcing,
not
each
other's
4
substitute”.
The Cold War saw delineations in the IOR
between the USA and the erstwhile Soviet Union,
and the superpower rivalry placed India closer to
the Soviet camp. The mistrust that flowed from
the Cold War years limited India’s vision of
regional maritime security while it sought avenues
of détente with the IOR nations by building a
This approach led to the development of better
relations with most of its neighbours and the
regional IOR nations, with India being seen as a
regional power and a stable nation with no
hegemonic interests. The emergence of an
increased element of trust, better relations with
The Indian Ocean and its Littorals
18
the IOR nations, and cooperation at regional
organisations saw an enhanced outreach by India
using both soft and hard power to ensure
stability, security and peace in the IOR’s maritime
domain.
India’s Maritime Strategy
According to Norman Hartman, Foreign Policy
is “a systematic statement of deliberately selected
national interests.”5 India’s maritime security
strategy – which is an important integral part of
its foreign policy – took time to evolve for a
variety of reasons. This evolution reflects a
systematic approach wherein several elements of
national power were used.
These consisted of a mix of the soft and hard
power aspects, inter alia of diplomacy,
economics, and military power. India’s growth as
a rising economic power and recognition as a
‘Preferred Security Partner and First Responder’,
and the spurt of strategic partnerships with many
nations, has seen the evolution of a set of
contemporary concepts and initiatives that are
dealt with the working groups of IOR regional
organisations headed by a lead nation. India
works mainly through these structures and
frameworks with regional nations to address the
non-traditional threats that impact the IOR.
Structures, Frameworks and
Engagements
Over time maritime security evolved as an
accepted global term covering Freedom of
Navigation that resonated at the national,
regional and global levels, and naval power
metamorphosed into maritime power that
enveloped both hard and soft power attributes.
Post the Cold War and the emergence of new
strategic alignments and strategic partnerships,
maritime cooperation that started as a buzzword
became a mantra.
In this new security environment, India’s
contemporary approach to maritime security was
placed under the broad umbrella of Security and
Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR), a
The Indian Ocean and its Littorals
concept that can be replicated in any maritime
region of the world. Under SAGAR, India’s
maritime engagements within the IOR can be
clubbed under several structures and frameworks
like Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA),
Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS),
Neighbourhood First, Bay of Bengal Initiative
for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic
Cooperation (BIMSTEC), the Indo-Pacific
Oceans Initiative (IPOI), and the Coalition for
Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI),
minilaterals, institutionalised maritime exercises
and mission-based deployments.
The central focus of
these
engagements, which are based on
inclusivity, is on non-traditional
threats that threaten the stability,
security and peace of the region.
Further, central to these structures
and frameworks, is a common thread
that seeks to address threats,
challenges and risks arising from the
maritime domain while maximising
on the cooperative opportunities that
arise as part of the addressal
mechanism.
This inclusive approach was extended to India’s
concept of the Indo-Pacific Region and
amplified in India’s vision of a ‘free, open and
inclusive’ Indo-Pacific. At the international level
the importance of maritime security was
highlighted by Prime Minister Modi during the
first ever open maritime security debate,
Enhancing Maritime Security – A Case for
International Cooperation at the United Nations
Security Council (UNSC) on 9 August 2021. The
debate was held under India’s Presidency of the
UNSC, and the following five basic principles
were discussed which indicate the holistic
manner of India’s approach to maritime
security:6
1. Removal of barriers from legitimate maritime
trade.
2. Peaceful settlement of disputes as per
international law.
3. Joint addressal of natural disasters and
maritime threats created by non-state actors.
19
4. Preservation of the marine environment and
resources.
5. Encouragement of responsible maritime
connectivity.
INS Talwar successfully apprehended a suspicious dhow in support of Combined Task Force 150-led focussed operation
Crimson Barracuda, recovering 940 kilograms of narcotics, March 2024. | Indian Navy.
Territorial instability always impacts the security
and peace of the surrounding marine
environment. Hence, stability is a major factor, as
any reduction or loss of stability leads to an
unsafe environment that harbours and supports
non-state actors. These actors thrive on and drive
non-traditional threats like maritime crimes,
especially terrorism; piracy; the smuggling of
guns, drugs and humans; and as seen more
recently the new phenomena of attacks on
merchant shipping in the Red Sea by the Houthis.
While the Houthi actions are a threat and
challenge that is part/subset of an ongoing
traditional conflict, it has added to the instability
and also aided the resurgence of another
non-traditional threat: piracy. The overarching
impact of a combination of such non-traditional
threats has far-reaching effects on a region and
the nations within.
The Indian Ocean and its Littorals
For example, the impact on India’s
economy from November 2023 to 31
March 2024, due to the Houthi
attacks, has been assessed as 30
billion USD.7 While India may be able
to absorb this initial impact, the
impact on smaller nations could be
worse.
While actions to address the Houthi threat are
dictated by the complex web of traditional
state-on-state relations, the resurgence of piracy
would need readdressing as done before. India’s
addressal of piracy has been successful as proven
by Indian Navy deployments, the earlier
experience of dealing with pirates including
effective use of kinetic means and cooperation
with different navies brought about by increasing
interoperability through capacity and capability
20
building.
Capacity- and capability-building find resonance
across all the regional organisations of the IORs,
especially in maritime security, safety and disaster
risk management. Hence, it also forms an
important part of India’s maritime security
strategy and is applied both domestically and as
well as regionally. Regional efforts add to
enhanced interoperability and therefore, better
cooperative mechanisms.
Endnotes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
In dealing with non-traditional
threats, India’s maritime security
strategy aims at strengthening three
pillars: the promotion of stability; the
maintenance of security and the
preservation of peace. This approach
has been mentioned in the third
constituent strategy Shaping a
Favourable and Positive Maritime
Environment as outlined in the
Indian Navy’s 2015 unclassified
strategy document, Ensuring Secure
Seas: Indian Maritime Security
Strategy (IMSS 2015).8 The idea is to
“to promote security and stability at
sea, and enhance cooperation,
mutual
understanding
and
interoperability with maritime forces
of friendly nations.”9 thereby shaping
a suitable maritime environment
beneficial for the IOR under the
rubric of SAGAR.
The Indian Ocean and its Littorals
7.
8.
9.
Sarabjeet Singh Parmar, “Maritime Security in the Indian Ocean:
An Indian Perspective”, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses,
Journal for Defence Studies, Journal of Defence Studies, Vol. 8,
No. 1, January–March 2014, pp. 49–63.
KM Panikkar, “India and the Indian Ocean: An Essay on the
Influence of Sea Power on Indian History”, George Allen and
Unwin Ltd, Second Edition 1951, London, pp 91,92.
For more details see Selig Harrison and K Subrahmanyam (eds),
“Superpower Rivalry in the Indian Ocean: Indian and American
Perspectives”, Oxford University Press, New York, 1989.
See K Subrahmanyam and Arthur Monteiro, “Shedding
Shibboleths: India’s Evolving Strategic Outlook”, Wordsmiths,
New Delhi, 2005.
VN Khanna, “Indian Foreign Policy”, Sixth Edition, Vikas
Publishing House, New Delhi, 2007, pp 2.
See Government of India/ Press Information Bureau Press
Release, English translation of Prime Minister’s remarks at the
UNSC High-Level Open Debate on “Enhancing Maritime Security:
A Case for International Cooperation”, 09 August 2021, available at
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PMO=3&PRID=1
744170 (Accessed May 12, 2024).
Cyril Widdershoven, “The Impact of Red Sea Conflict on India’s
Oil Trade”, January 09, 2024, available at
https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/the-impact-of-red-sea-conflict-o
n-indias-oil-trade (Accessed May 12, 2024).
Integrated Headquarters, Ministry of Defence (Navy) New Delhi,
“Ensuring Secure Seas: Indian Maritime Security Strategy (IMSS
2015)”, October 2015, pp 81, available at
https://www.indiannavy.nic.in/sites/default/files/Indian_Maritime
_Security_Strategy_Document_25Jan16.pdf (Accessed May 12,
2024).
Ibid, pp 11.
21
Captain Sarabjeet S Parmar (Retd)
Captain Sarabjeet S Parmar is a former Indian Navy officer who commanded two ships
and a frontline anti-submarine warfare and anti-shipping helicopter squadron. He was a
member of the XI Indian Antarctic Summer Expedition in 1991, attended the
Management Defence Course Conducted by the British Government at Colombo in
2005, and represented the Indian Navy in the first international HOSTAC (helicopter
operations from ships other than aircraft carriers) conference held at Norfolk, USA in
2008.
He was a Research Fellow at the MP-IDSA and worked in the Indian Navy’s strategic
apex level offices where – as Director Strategy – was part of the core team that published
the Indian Navy’s unclassified maritime security strategy document titled Ensuring
Secure Seas: Indian Maritime Security Strategy in 2015. Captain Parmar carried out
regional maritime assessments and completed the doctrine development plan. He is
presently a Distinguished Fellow at the United Service Institution of India, New Delhi,
and Council of Strategic and Defence Research, New Delhi.
The Indian Ocean and its Littorals
22
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Attribution: Various Authors, The Indian Ocean and its Littorals
June 2024, NatStrat India
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