PRIME Minister Mr. Narendra Modi has once again highlighted India’s view of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) as an “ocean of opportunity” -- as he addressed the National Assembly of Seychelles, located in the Indian Ocean on the eastern edge of the African continent. His travel to Seychelles after a hectic tour of Europe shows what kind of importance India attaches to the tiny country from multiple angles. India has often treated the Indian Ocean Region as a vast region full of opportunities to the countries that line of the ocean. For, the IOR does not only have critical international trade routes, but is also rich with mineable mineral and other oceanic resources. India has been insisting upon collective efforts to utilise this ocean of opportunities for the larger global good. The Prime Minister, too, underscored all those aspects as he led the Indian delegation to inking of several pacts with Seychelles on multiple fronts including space and strategic defence.

 

The fact that Seychelles conferred upon the Prime Minister its highest civilian honour of the “Guardian of the Blue Horizon” also shows how the two countries view the Indian Ocean that is considered to be a treasure of opportunities. Over the past some time, India has worked hard to develop the Indian Ocean Region as a common global heritage that needs to be utilised by the international community equitably for the larger of humanity. Though India has been working very hard to evolve its Navy as a “prima Donna of the Indian Ocean,” it has never allowed anybody to carry an impression that New Delhi wants to be the only dominating force in the IOR. Working tirelessly from this point of view, India has been taking some very confident steps to emerge as a force to reckon with in the IOR, all right. Though China has often tried to dominate the IOR on the shoulders of its Naval might, and has followed the policy of developing friendship among littoral states to encircle India, New Delhi has never showed knee-jerk reactions, but did not hesitate to offer a considered opinion on issues related to the Indian Ocean.

 

It has continued to strengthen its Navy in every possible manner. The Indian Navy already boasts of two aircraft carriers (while a third is possibly in advanced stages of manufacture). Both, India and Seychelles have called the Indian Ocean as their “shared home and shared responsibility”, which means a lot in a lot many terms to both the countries. The Prime Minister, therefore, stressed that “defence and security of Indian and Seychelles are integral to each other”. India has called this and similar exercises as its MAHASAGAR vision -- meaning ‘Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions’. It is not just an attractive nomenclature, all right. It is how India thinks of the Indian Ocean region as one of opportunities -- beyond politics. In other words, Vision MAHASAGAR also talks of a collective developmental concern for Global South (where most countries have kept suffering in poverty and ignorance for decades on end. As an undisputed leader of Global South, India now wants to work hard to change the international developmental scenario by making most nations party to the usage of IOR as an ocean of opportunities. Many countries in the IOR have sensed the difference between the Indian and the Chinese approaches to regional issues.

 

While China wants to use the region as a field of client-states to be exploited for its coercive geopolitics and geoeconomics, India considers the IOR as an ocean of shared opportunities for every country in the region -- in tune with global flow. Initially, the Chinese approach did earn for Beijing a few client-states, all right. But in due course, most countries started realising the slimy approach of the Chinese -- as against the graceful and dignified approach of the Indians. The Prime Minister’s Seychelles visit is a fine reflection of the success of the Indian diplomacy of non-reciprocal or non-transactional assistance to the countries that need support in their developmental efforts.