India's Indian Ocean strategy emphasizes security, regional partnerships, infrastructure development, and environmental sustainability, aiming to balance regional influence and counter emerging geopolitical challenges.

Why in the News?

Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs presented report on 'Evaluation of India's Indian Ocean Strategy' in Lok Sabha.

Why Indian Ocean matters?

Indian Ocean is 3rd-largest oceanic division in the world.
Hosts 1/3rd of the world's population.
Over 2/3rd of the world's oil shipments transit through it.
90% of India's trade by volume, including nearly all oil imports, passes through the Indian Ocean.
India has a 2.4 million sq. km Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

India's Strategy in the Indian Ocean

Strategic Partnerships: India's approach to the IOR has been guided by 'Neighbourhood First' policy and SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) doctrine.
- In March 2025, India outlined MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions) doctrine, an extension of SAGAR doctrine.

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Net Security Provider: India has established itself as the net security provider in the IOR.
- India actively engages in counter-piracy operations and cooperates with other nations to combat IUU fishing, maritime terrorism and maritime criminal activities.
- India also conducts joint EEZ surveillance exercises and shares information through Information Fusion Centre (IFC-IOR).
Engagement with Littoral States: India has fostered strong bilateral partnerships with IOR littoral states such as Mauritius, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Seychelles.
- Developmental assistance, capacity building programmes, HADR support and defence and maritime security cooperation are the core pillars of such partnerships.
Regional Leadership: India plays a key role in multilateral platforms in the IORA including Indian Ocean Rim Association, Indian Ocean Commission, etc.
Infrastructure and Connectivity: India has been investing in the development of ports, such as Chabahar Port, across the Indian Ocean, such as in Sri Lanka, Mauritius, and Seychelles, to enhance connectivity and strategic presence.
- Sagarmala 2.0: India's flagship initiative to enhance port connectivity, develop inland waterways, and promote industrial growth to further enhance India's maritime competitiveness.
Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief: India plays the role of a reliable 'first responder'.
- For instance, in the wake of floods caused by Typhoon Yagi, India launched Operation 'Sadbhav' and provided disaster relief material and medical supplies to Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam.

Important Multilateral Platforms in the IORA

Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA): India is a founding member of the 23-member IORA, a regional grouping aimed at strengthening economic cooperation, maritime safety, and environmental security.
Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS): Launched in 2008 by India, it seeks to increase maritime co-operation among navies of the littoral states.
Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI): Announced by India in 2019, is an open, non-treaty based global initiative that seeks to manage, conserve, sustain, and secure the maritime domain.
Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD): It addresses maritime security, safety, HADR, environment protection, connectivity, strategic technologies, supply chain resilience, health, education and cyber security, amongst others.
Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC): India is the lead country for the Security pillar of BIMSTEC, which covers counterterrorism and transnational crime, disaster management and energy security.
Indian Ocean Commission (IOC): A smaller organization, it focuses on economic, environmental issues and maritime security. India is an observer state.

Challenges and Threats to the Indian Strategy

Geopolitical: Increasing presence of extra regional players with investments in ports and infrastructure (e.g., strategic competition in Sri Lanka and Maldives with China) thereby expanding their strategic footprint and adversely impacting our security interests.
- Island states' hedging between partners is a challenge in steady economic and security engagement.
Maritime Security: Region faces issues like piracy, terrorism, illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU fishing), drug trafficking, and smuggling.
Infrastructure and Connectivity Gaps: Several IOR countries, including India's key partners like Sri Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius and Seychelles, face infrastructural and financial limitations.

Way Forward

Tailored strategic engagement plan: India should formulate a comprehensive and flexible strategic engagement plan covering all 35 littoral states with key focus areas including maritime security, climate resilience, infrastructure development, defence cooperation, etc.
Institutionalise strategy execution: Establish a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Task Force comprising key ministries to address existing institutional silos, streamline decision-making, and enable faster, better-coordinated execution of India's interests in the region.
Integrating Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific strategies: Develop a unified and coherent maritime strategy integrating Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific policies including strengthening cooperation through key multilateral platforms such as the Quad, IORA, and ASEAN.
Green MAHASAGAR: Integrate environmental sustainability into India's regional strategy with focus on marine ecosystem protection, pollution reduction, disaster response, and promotion of the Blue Economy.
Strengthen maritime strategy: Enhancing India's maritime deterrence through advanced technologies, including satellite surveillance and AI-driven Maritime Domain Awareness.
Role of Indian Navy: Improve fleet readiness, personnel training, logistics support, and accelerate the modernization of naval forces by prioritizing indigenous development under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
Enhancing India's cultural footprint: Increase funding of Indian Missions to undertake initiatives such as Cultural Centers, art performances, and heritage promotion.

Conclusion

India's policy in the Indian Ocean region (IOR) is centered on maintaining security, fostering regional cooperation, and promoting strategic and economic interests with the objective of promoting greater prosperity in the region and of making the Indian Ocean a free, open and inclusive space, based on the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS).