Challenges in Indian Ocean

India is facing new maritime challenges in the Indian ocean. Examine these challenges and explain what
should be Indias strategy in addressing these challenges. (200 Words)
Dated: 24/12/2014
New Challenges for India in the Indian Ocean- . India situated at the head of the IO shares the longest
coastline of 7500 kms among the other nations surrounding the IO
China's presence in the IO, building military naval bases .
Security issues build over Chinas increasing cooperation with strategically important SL ,Maldives ,
Pakistan .
New maritime Silk Route of China with its ports along the Indian Ocean is a matter of concern
.China -US rivalry for dominance
.SOP theory
War of Terror in the Indian Ocean. Major wars like the Gulf Wars, Al shabab (Somalia), Horror of
Africa, Axis of Evil, and even the ISIS camps are related to IO
India is a major trade route to developing countries, the pirates of Africa are a source of major threat
Significance of Indian Ocean
If one visualizes the map of South Asia upside down one would understand IO importance. India situated at
the head of the IO shares the longest coastline of 7500 kms among the other nations surrounding the IO
.Oil trade -60% of global trade
.Sea lanes of communication and choke points like strait of Malacca .
.India's strategy to revive the old IOZOP is outdated.
India's strategy to address the IO maritime challenges
1)Build its naval strength , rapidly modernize its navy , develop civilian
maritime infrastructure and island territories .Undertake maritime
operations across littoral states to expand capacity.
2) Deepen bilateral, trilateral and multilateral military security cooperation with US and France in the Indian
Ocean.
3) Strengthen naval cooperation with maritime neighbors like SL , Maldives . Increase naval assistance and
develop stronger relations with other island
countries like Seychelles and Mauritius.
4) Start maritime dialogue with China on IO.
5) Expand its Multilateral-ism through forums like IO Rim Association and IO Naval Symposium.
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2. Discuss why the Indian Ocean is considered as critical to the future of the world and India. (200 Words)
The only ocean of the world name after a Country is Indian Ocean.
Importance of Indian Ocean to World:
1. 70 percent of world trade from West to East and East to West.
2. Oil trade from Middle east to China, Japan, India, SE Asian countries
3. Polly metallic nodules at Ocean floor provide vital metals extraction sources from ocean.
4. Western powers involvement in security management against radical and fundamentalist Islamic groups in
and around Iraq.

5. All the sea lanes leading to the Indian Ocean, particularly the Suez Canal and the Straits of Malacca be
kept open at all the times.
Importance of Indian Ocean to India:
1. 7,500km coastline linking to Indian Ocean
2. 80% of Indias trade is through Sea route passes through Indian Ocean.
3. 85% of oil and gas imported through Indian Ocean into the country.
4. Fishing and tourism depends on it due to huge marine re-courses it spreads prosperity in coastal plains of
India.
5. Security of Country after 26/11 and recent 1st January2015 (mid-sea blast of fishing boat incident). No
industrial development, commercial growth, and stable political structure is possible unless our nations
shores are protected.
6. Vital for managing better relation with neighbours like Vietnam, , Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, SriLanka, Maldives, Seychelles, Mauritius, Iran, etc.
To, maintain safer trade routes, and induce Energy Security for every party, India has recently pitched to
declare Indian Ocean Region as "Region of Peace" at Galle dialogue (2014-Sri-Lanka), which provides enough
reason that Indian Ocean is critical to India and the world.

3. The problem in establishing strategic presence in the Indian Ocean region is that Indias ambitions seem
to be running ahead of its capacity. In the light of slew of projects announced by India in the Indian Ocean
region, comment on the statement. (200 Words)
Dated: 17/03/2015
P.S : Topic can also be included in India and its Neighbors
Indian has recently announced a slew of projects in the Indian Ocean region,
1. Project Mausam- to promote India's soft power in the littoral. Along with the spice route initiative, the aim
is to capture India's historical linkages in the littoral.
2. Sagar mala- with the aim to promote India's connectivity to the Indian Ocean, in economic and security
domains.
Along with these initiatives, multilateral platforms have been setup, such as,
1. Indian Ocean Rim Association- to promote regional cooperation
2. Indian Ocean Naval Symposium-which brings together chiefs of Navy every 2 years to discuss naval
cooperation.
3. Joint mechanisms with Sri Lanka and Maldives for shared maritime domain awareness.
Further, projects launched in this region, like developing infrastructural assets in this region to match China's
influence, are welcome steps. However, there are crucial bottlenecks that have the potential to derail the
initiative.
1. Inadequate civilian maritime infrastructure, which needs an overhaul.
2. Inadequate capacity or policy framework needed to bid for and execute major infrastructure projects
in this region.
3. While several deals have been signed related to infrastructure, security and the provision of grants-the
limitations lies in the defence budgetary grants, constraints of funds and bureaucratic inefficiency in
taking forward the opportunity.
4. Substantial investment in Naval defence infrastructure, and cultivate capabilities, systems and attitudes
required for India to be a 'net security provider', in this region.
5. Comparison with China- Intense competition can be seen in the aggressive Chinese policy of
infrastructure, port development, formation of naval bases [through heavy loans and infrastructure]
etc. While China has naval bases [Pearls] in rim countries like Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and

heavily investing in African [Tanzania, Sudan] and East Asian [Indonesia, Myanmar] countries ,India
lacks in such forwards posts and Deep Assets. Although recent measures for building defence assets
in Mauritius, Seychelles are welcome, much depends upon pace of infrastructure development, joint
cooperation and playing an aggressive role.
6. Importance of India Ocean has attracted countries like USA [already in Diego Garcia and latest talks
for military base in Maldives], UK etc. Presence of any external military base near Indian coasts will
undermine dominance of Indian Navy in this region.
7. Recent land border hostilities have attracted Indian attention towards strengthening and modernizing
its military and air force which may result in budget cuts for navy, which is vital for dominance in
Indian Ocean.
8. While defence cooperation with Indian ocean countries like Vietnam, Singapore are welcome steps,
the weak point is still majority of Indian defence equipment is imported with little high tech. local
presence, which often results delays and supply of equipment to friendly countries.
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P.S : Project Mausam: India is using its history, culture and geography to compete with Chinas Maritime Silk
Route project.

India is uniquely placed to play a major role in Indian Ocean security and trade. Indias location and power
can serve to organize the states of the Indian Ocean littoral. Understanding this, Modis government is
currently shaping Project Mausam.
It is inspired by Indias historical role as the focal point for trade in the Indian Ocean. In pre-modern times,
sailors used seasonal monsoons (mausam,
means weather or season in many South Asian languages)
to swiftly journey across the Indian Ocean.

This trip usually involved starting from one of the edges of the ocean, around todays Indonesia or east Africa,
sailing to India, stopping, and allowing another crew to wait for another monsoon to sail to the other edge of
the Indian Ocean, as different monsoon winds blew in different directions at different times of the year.
Crews would frequently winter for months in India or at one of the edges of the ocean waiting for another
season of monsoons. This allowed for significant cultural exchanges as diverse people from different places
would often spend months at a time living in foreign countries (Islam is said to have entered Indonesia in this
manner).
Project Mausam would allow India to reestablish its ties with its ancient trade partners and re-establish an
Indian Ocean world along the littoral of the Indian Ocean. This world would stretch from east Africa, along
the Arabian Peninsula, past southern Iran to the major countries of South Asia and thence to Sri Lanka and
Southeast Asia.
The project is supposed to have both a cultural and serious strategic dimension. Perhaps one thing India
could consider is seriously developing its Andaman and Nicobar Islands as a security and trade zone. This
idea is sensible provided the islands close location to strategically important countries like the Straits of
Malacca and Thailand.
It is clear that Indias government intends to expand its maritime presence, culturally, strategically and
psychologically (in order to remind the region why the ocean is called the Indian Ocean). Despite the lack of
details, Project Mausam seems like a positive step in that direction and one that will generally be wellreceived. It is to be hoped, however, that the project is meaningful and does not lack teeth, like many other
Indian initiatives of the past. The fact that Narendra Modis government is initiating Project Mausam,
however, at least gives one assurance that the Indian government is not launching another arbitrary and halfhearted initiative.
**Project Mausam falls under the Ministry of Culture, and was launched in June, 2014 @ The international
audience at the 38th session of the World Heritage Committee at Doha, Qatar.
It has TWO levels.
1. At the MACRO level: it aims to re-connect and re-establish communications between countries of the
Indian Ocean world, which would lead to an enhanced understanding of cultural values and
concerns; while
2. At the MICRO level, the focus is on understanding national cultures in their regional maritime
milieu.
The central themes that hold Project Mausam together are those of cultural routes and maritime landscapes
that not only linked different parts of the Indian Ocean littoral, but also connected the coastal centres to their
hinterlands. More importantly, shared knowledge systems and ideas spread along these routes and impacted
both coastal centres, and also large parts of the environs.
The project links historic coastal sites of countries in East Africa, along the Persian Gulf, UAE, Qatar, Iran,
Myanmar, and Vietnam since the earlier Harappan civilization days - more than 5,000 years ago - to the
present. The project is being jointly undertaken by the National Monuments Authority (NMA), ASI and the
Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA).
The nomination focuses on looking at these sites in totality to see how the monsoon winds helped maritime
trade which, in turn, encouraged interaction between these Indian Ocean-connected countries. The winds
also influenced local economies, scientific quests, modern statecraft, religion, politics and cultural identity.
The project will also record how religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity helped define the
boundaries of this Indian Ocean 'world', creating networks of religious travel and pilgrimage through
centuries.
Project Mausam is an exciting, multi-disciplinary project that rekindles long-lost ties across nations of the
Indian Ocean world and forges new avenues of cooperation and exchange. The project, launched by India

in partnership with member states, will enable a significant step in recording and celebrating this important
phase of world history from the African, Arab and Asian-world perspectives.
Source: PIB
Dated: 18/03/2015
Government to establish cross cultural linkages with 39 Indian Ocean Countries under Project Mausam
The Government has proposed to establish cross cultural linkages and to revive historic maritime cultural and
economic ties under Project Mausam with 39 Indian Ocean countries.
The 39 countries include Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Egypt, Iraq, Mauritius, Singapore,
Thailand , Yemen, South Africa, Philippines, Pakistan among others.
Project Mausam was launched in the 30th Session of World Heritage Committee meeting which was held at
Doha, Quatar in June, 2014 and since then it has received positive response from countries such as China,
UAE, Qatar, Myanmar, Iran and Vietnam. Archaeological Survey of India in collaboration with State Govt.of
Kerala organized a National Conference on Project Mausam in Kochi in November 2014.
Indira Gandhi National Centre for Art (IGNCA) has constituted an Academic Committee and a temporary
research unit in this regard. The Government has formulated action plan for achieving a World Heritage
transnational nomination for Indian Ocean Maritime Routes. The Plan envisages joint initiative of India and
various member states for implementation of UNESCO Cultural Conventions of World Heritage and
Intangible culture. It further promotes joint research and selection of appropriate sites to prepare application
of trans-national nomination of Maritime Routes & Coastal Cultural Landscape sites. The Standing Financial
Committee (SFC) memorandum is under consideration.
Mausam to link 10 Gujarat sites to the Indian Ocean world:
"In Gujarat there are 44 coastal Harappan sites, the largest one being Dholavira. But not all of these are being
considered.
Some of the sites identified in Gujarat include the Gulfs of Kutch and Cambay; the rock cut Buddhist caves of
Kateshwar, Siyot in Lakhpat, and Talaja in Bhavnagar and Kadia Dungar in Bharuch. These will be linked to
sites in Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala
Gujarat played a mandatory role in shaping the rich maritime tradition.
"In Bhadreshwar near Mandvi, it is amazing to see co-existing Sanskrit and Arabic inscriptions and that the
Jains helped build mosques. Boat-building traditions, community networks and cultural practices were
important links in our documentation.
Indian Ocean Rim AssociationIntroduction: This was formerly known as the Indian Ocean Rim Initiative and Indian Ocean Rim
Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC), is an international organisation consisting of coastal states
bordering the Indian Ocean.
The IORA is a regional forum, tripartite in nature, bringing together representatives of Government, Business
and Academia, for promoting co-operation and closer interaction among them.
It is based on the principles of Open Regionalism for strengthening Economic Cooperation particularly on
Trade Facilitation and Investment, Promotion as well as Social Development of the region
Established on: March 1995, and formally launched on March, 1997.
Co-coordinating Secretariat: @ Ebene, Mauritius
The Apex body is composed of Council of Foreign Ministers
Secretary General: K V Bhagirathi
Objectives:
To promote sustainable growth and balanced development of the region and member states
To focus on those areas of economic cooperation which provides maximum opportunities for
development, shared interest and mutual benefits

To promote liberalisation, remove impediments and lower barriers towards a freer and enhanced
flow of goods, services, investment, and technology within the Indian Ocean rim.
Functions/Roles: IORA members undertake projects for economic co-operation relating to trade facilitation
and liberalisation, promotion of foreign investment, scientific and technological exchanges, tourism,
movement of natural persons and service providers on a non-discriminatory basis; and the development of
infrastructure and human resources, poverty alleviation, promotion of maritime transport and related matters,
cooperation in the fields of fisheries trade, research and management, aquaculture, education and training,
energy, IT, health, protection of the environment, agriculture, disaster management.
Membership: Total 20 member states along with six dialogue partners, the Indian Ocean Tourism
Organisation and the Indian Ocean Research Group has observer status.
Australia/Bangladesh/Comoros/India/Indonesia/Iran/Kenya/Madagascar/Malayasia/Mauritius/Mozambique/
Oman/Seychelles/Singapore/SA/SL/Tanzania/Thai/UAE
Dialogue partners: China/Egypt/France/Japan/UK/US
The priority areas of this organization, from the viewpoint of India are as follows: Maritime Safety and
Security/Trade and Investment Faciliation/Fisheries Management/Disaster and Risk Management/AcademicScience and technology/Tourism and Cultural exchnages.

Indian Ocean Commission: (not related to bilateral relationships of India/INDIA IS NOT A MEMBER
of this organization): is an intergovernmental organization that was created in 1982 at Port Louis,
Mauritius and institutionalized in 1984 by the Victoria Agreement in Seychelles.
The IOC is composed of five African Indian Ocean nations: Comoros, Runion (a department of
France), Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles. Notwithstanding their different characteristics (Reunion as a
French department; Mauritius and Seychelles as Middle-Income Countries whereas Comoros and
Madagascar are amongst the Least-Developed Countries), the five islands share geographic proximity,
historical and demographic relationships, natural resources and common development issues.
Indian Ocean Naval Symposium
The Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) is a voluntary initiative that seeks to increase maritime cooperation among navies of the littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region by providing an open and inclusive
forum for discussion of regionally relevant maritime issues. In the process, it endeavours to generate a flow of
information between naval professionals that would lead to common understanding and possibly cooperative
solutions on the way ahead.
Establishment: The inaugural IONS-2008 was held in New Delhi, India on 14 Feb 08. CNS, Indian Navy was
designated the Chairman IONS for the period 2008-10.
Memberships: Total 35 members, but strategically grouped into four zones:

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