Emerging Strategic Scenario in the Western Indian Ocean Region

Senior Research Associate Ruchita Beri presented a Fellows Paper on “Emerging Security Scenario in the Western Indian Ocean Region” on Friday, July 2, 2010. Commodore (Retd.) C. Uday Bhaskar chaired the session.

The author introduced the subject highlighting the strategic importance of the Western Indian Ocean Region for India. To underscore the importance of the topic, Beri quoted Robert Kaplan who has dubbed the region as the “centre stage for the global struggles in the twentieth century.” In light of the self-evident and much-discussed strategic importance of the region in global politics, she averred that since India was strategically placed in the region, the prevailing security scenario in the region, particularly the rise of piracy in Somali waters, impacted on its national interest. Therefore, it is incumbent on Indian security planners to keep a close watch on unfolding events in the region.

Beri discussed the problem of piracy in the region at length. She traced the genesis of this problem to the collapse of Somalia’s Said Barre government in 1991. In the wake of the collapse, anarchy-hit Somalia provided a fertile ground for the rise of piracy. Since then, the problem of piracy has only aggravated. Various factors such as absence of a central authority, massive unemployment, depleting natural maritime resources and resentment against foreign exploitation of these resources have converted Somali fishermen into pirates. Now, the gravity of the problem can be gauged by the fact that insurance companies have hiked the rates of insurance premium manifold for shipping companies seeking insurance cover for their ships passing through the waters off the Somali coast. Besides, shipping companies are also redirecting their vessels via the Cape of Good Hope. But as the success stories of the Somali pirates are inspiring and encouraging pirates in areas such as Nigeria and South America, the redirection of ships may provide only temporary relief. Beri also noted that the pirates enjoyed sympathy and support of the local communities because they were perceived as protectors of the Somali coast. In fact, pirates describe themselves as “Coast Guards of Somalia”. Against this backdrop, Beri delineated various initiatives and measures recently taken by the international community to curb piracy. However, she pointed out the weaknesses in these attempts, which arise from jurisdictional and other problems related to International Law.

In addition, Beri also focused on the Chinese presence in the African continent. She explained how, in the last twenty years, China has embarked on active diplomacy in Africa. She analyzed the basic reasons that were guiding China’s Africa policy and argued that China’s overall geopolitical understanding was dictating its active diplomacy in Africa. China wants to offset the negative impact of American supremacy by having more and more alliances with non-Western powers. Besides, it is desperate to secure as much African natural resources as possible for its own use and benefit. To maintain its high growth rate, it is imperative for China to have uninterrupted access to energy resources wherever they are available in the world.

Beri stated that the phenomenal rise of the Chinese presence in the Western Indian Ocean Region and the rise of piracy in the region are matters of grave security concern for India. She noted that over 100 Indian citizens have been kidnapped and several Indian naval ships have been deployed in the region. The author was of the view that the Indian Navy seemed to be more aggressive than its Chinese counterpart in acting against the pirates. She also narrated various regional and bilateral measures adopted by India aimed at counterbalancing the Chinese presence in the region.

Discussion

Ambassador Rajiv Bhatia commented that while it is an excellent paper, the connection between the rise of piracy in the western India Ocean Region and China’s presence there needs to be established in the introductory section of the paper. Further, he remarked that India should link up with piracy affected parties to curb this problem. Besides, India should follow a frank and forthcoming diplomacy in intra-Africa disputes. It should not be shy of taking a stand on intra-Africa disputes. He argued that India must not ignore the Chinese presence in the region, though it also need not lament over it. In addition, India should not copy the Chinese model of business with African countries. India should monitor China and intensify its engagement with Africa.

Dr. Vijay Sakhuja commented that a lot of international activities were going on in the region, though little was being done for regional capacity building. He cautioned that military sales in the region must be carefully watched. Finally, he advised the author that the conclusion of the paper needed to be made a bit more substantive.

Constantino Xavier commented that China’s presence in the region and its security stakes in the region needed to be elaborated upon more. He also said that there was a greater need of defining the Indian security stakes in the region, and security implications of the regional security scenario for India.

Iskander Rahman noted that it would be an interesting to know how naval rivalry between India and China would affect the region.

Finally, Uday Bhaskar argued that a maritime perspective of history – though still developing – needs to be employed to make the study more substantive.

Prepared by Dr. Prashant Kumar Singh, Research Assistant, IDSA