E-Paper
Advancing India’s maritime interests through naval diplomacy
This paper is authored by Sayantan Haldar – ORF, New Delhi.
Naval diplomacy has emerged as a pillar of India’s external engagements. While conventionally regarded as a military arm, the navy is increasingly assuming a greater role as a diplomatic actor. This brief underlines three trends in India’s naval diplomacy in the Indian Ocean, shaped by its broader political outlook in the region. First, there has been a normative shift in how India views the role of the navy. Second, India’s bilateral engagements with its maritime neighbours are expanding, especially during times of crisis. Third, there is a marked effort in deploying the navy to engage with stakeholders on specific issues in multilateral and minilateral forums.
The maritime domain, and the Indian Ocean in particular, has emerged as a critical frontier for India’s foreign policy outreach. This is underpinned by three factors: maritime connectivity, which has emerged as a key driver of prosperity; ocean management, vital to sustainable living; and ocean governance, which helps in power projection. Countries in the Indian Ocean region have diverse economic, security, and political capabilities. For India, as the largest economy and the principal security actor in the region, the security and stability of the Indian Ocean is necessary to ensure its own strategic interests. In this context, given the vast differential in the capabilities of various navies in the Indian Ocean, naval diplomacy has assumed a vital role.
