The Indian Ocean is a critically important geo-economic space for the countries that border it as well as all others whose ships and strategic lines pass through. It was with this in mind that the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) was created as an initiative by countries of this rim that include Australia, India, Mauritius, and several South East Asian and West Asian countries. How seriously has the Indian Ocean Rim and this association been taken? What does Indian interest show?
The Indian Ocean is strategically important for the countries on its rim. It is from the oceans that they were first colonised. Their navies secure their borders. India faced terror attacks from the sea in Mumbai, pirates continually harass sea vessels in the region, so for such a vast ocean space cooperation between countries is essential. Open multilateralism is key in the current international scenario, and this region needs such a flexible organisation.
The Indian Ocean is a source of great resources and ecological sensitivity. Fishing boats and deep sea trawlers from all countries harvest the sea, often ruthlessly. Sometimes there is a conflict of interest and fisherfolk become prisoners of war between countries of this rim. Some of the islands in this zone fear climate change and the rise of sea levels that would inundate them completely. All the countries have coastal zones that need environmental protection. The need for these countries to collectively examine the law of the sea, have discussions and move for a common stand on environment as also for preserving the resources would greatly improve the face of this organisation.
A vast amount of oil from West Asia is transported to India, Asia and Australia, and many goods crisscross these sea lanes. There have been dramatic advances in container and shipping transportation that facilitate trade and transportation making this a very busy route. These routes thus need protection and cannot be done by individual effort alone and needs some collective vision. At the same time, rules and laws need to be worked out on how these navies operate so that there is no point of conflagration.
It was with such a view that the IORA was developed with the objective of multilateralism, balanced development, fisheries protection, and promotion of trade and security. It has a secretariat in Mauritius and a secretary-general that rotates between countries. However, many countries have felt that this association should be much more vibrant, and that it has been put on the back burner. The media and popular discourse does not concern itself much on such issues, and the Indian Ocean Rim is not part of popular imagination, perhaps because it has been more of a zone of comparative peace. This, however, is changing especially because the South China and north-east Chinese Seas have ignited much interest. Moreover, Australia, the US and others carry out military exercises and have asked India to join these.
Indian interest and reaction has increased because China has been building ports and negotiating deals with a number of countries of this region like Sri Lanka and Mauritius. China has developed special relations with the two and has built a port in Hambantota, Sri Lanka. India has decided to upgrade their relations with some of these rim countries and recently gave generous military equipment to Sri Lanka and Mauritius. Mauritius is also a recipient of a large amount of Indian development assistance. Clearly these countries will be happy to get as much assistance from both India and China for their own development, security and regime stability. But India needs to work with other countries around this rim as well.
India has also taken the crucial step by setting up the Chabahar Port in Iran and a memorandum of agreement will be finally signed on this much delayed project. This is a critical project for India, as the Pakistani port of Gwadar, used by the Chinese, is barely 70 kilometres east of it. Moreover, this port can give India access to Afghanistan, West Asia and the Central Asian region. It is a pity, therefore, that this was stalled for such a long time.
Australia was one of the countries that took a great initiative in the IORA and the 2013 meeting of this organisation was held in Perth, with a joint statement and Australia became the chair of this group. It advocates great trade facilitation and even an academic forum. It has proposals for disaster management and for tourism and cultural exchanges. Women’s education and youth eduction are the cross-cutting issues. But so far, all of this remains on paper.
In a region like the vast Indian Ocean, bilateral agreements are important but have to be backed by multilateralism. Thus, the IORA needs to be revitalised and its agreements turned to policy. More countries, especially like Vietnam, should be included. Other ASEAN countries that are not part of it should be encouraged to come in so that this group gets more inclusive, even though the group has many dialogue partners. The meetings should be regular and more highly profiled. Collective projects on security, development and ecology should be initiated as it is a platform of common interest.
At the same time, there will be attempts to make such regions primarily ones of security and military. Some powerful states will try to make military bases. There already is a US military base in Diego Garcia and other aspiring powers will emulate this. The best way forward would be to make the Indian Ocean a zone of peace. This can be done if the Indian Ocean Rim countries work collectively on common trade, providing development to people who live in this region, ensuring that ecological and environmental diversity is retained.
Cooperation is thus key in this region. This is a common word in diplomacy. But often it is followed by geostrategic competition. Again, there is no harm in competition as long as it is peaceful and not at the cost of the others. India can take a lead in this.
The writer is professor at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Email: chenoy@gmail.com
