Modi’s ocean diplomacy has strategic import
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Indian Ocean tour, that concluded on Saturday, has been a significant initiative towards expanding and consolidating India's influence in its ‘near abroad’, as well as in ironing out creases. The trip had clear strategic, economic and cultural elements, all of which have come together to revitalise India's overall diplomatic space in the region. The three-nation visit has also taken the Government's foreign policy focus of ‘neighbourhood first' to a new level. Most of Mr Modi’s regional diplomacy has mostly focussed on India's land neighbours or those which are members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. Now, with the Indian Ocean tour to Mauritius, Seychelles and Sri lanka, Mr Modi has expanded that policy-view to include the larger Indian Ocean region, which had been woefully ignored by previous regimes for decades. Mr Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Mauritius and Seychelles since 1981 and Sri lanka since 1987. All three have historical, cultural and ethnic ties with India and Mr Modi took care to underline those civilisational linkages so as to reclaim this country's position of influence in the region.
This strategy was most visible in Sri lanka, where he visited the Mahabodhi Temple in Anuradhapura and also travelled to Jaffna, becoming the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the capital of the Tamil-majority Northern Province. Especially since the end of the war against the liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, India has sought to play an important role by helping Colombo re-build and re-develop the Northern Province, and Mr Modi underlined this aspect of Indian diplomacy when he handed over India-funded housing units to Jaffna authorities. Cultural diplomacy was also in full play in Mauritius, where Mr Modi praised the people's contribution to the development of Hindi literature, while addressing the nation on March 12, the Mauritius National Day (which also marks the day Mahatma Gandhi began his Dandi March). Notably, this strategy of building on historical ties to improve strategic and also economic connections was also evident during the Prime Minister's visit to Fiji — another crucial but oft-ignored nation — in November 2014. During that tour, Mr Modi highlighted the large ethnic Indian population of Fiji to reiterate India's traditional place of prominence in the Indo-Pacific region.
The need for India to re-establish its position in its ‘near abroad’, has become especially urgent with the emergence of China as a competing Asian powerhouse. In recent years, Beijing has repeatedly and sometimes even aggressively sought to establish itself as a major power in India's neighbourhood — with significant security implications. The Modi Government's outreach to these littoral states and attempts to strengthen its maritime diplomacy must be viewed in this context. Hence, we had Mr Modi handing over the Barracuda, the India-built naval patrol vessel, to Mauritius, which will now police its 2.3 million sqkm of Exclusive Economic Zone. On the other hand, we have New Delhi keeping the Maldives, another crucial Indian Ocean state, out of the Prime Minister's itinerary as the incumbent regime in Male continues with its political persecution of the staunchly pro-India former President, Mr Mohamed Nasheed.