Ordering the Post-Colonial Oceanic Space(s): K. M. Panikkar and the Origins of India’s Maritime “Resurgence”

Maritime security in the Indian Ocean: confronting non-traditional security threats with regional cooperation

Maritime security is a critical aspect of India's national security framework, given its vast coastline of approximately 7,516 kilometres, extensive maritime trade, and strategic location in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). This paper aims to explore the multifaceted dimensions of maritime security in India by examining geopolitical complexities, terrorism and piracy threats, and environmental challenges. The study provides an in-depth analysis of India’s maritime security landscape, evaluating existing policies, regulatory frameworks, technological advancements, and infrastructural limitations. It further highlights the need for enhanced strategic collaboration, both at the domestic and international levels, to bolster India's maritime defence mechanisms. A significant aspect of this research includes an evaluation of the current policy and regulatory framework governing India's maritime security. Despite having various agencies such as the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard, and state maritime boards overseeing security operations, coordination gaps, overlapping responsibilities, and bureaucratic inefficiencies persist. The paper also critically assesses technological and infrastructural limitations that hinder India's ability to effectively monitor and safeguard its maritime zones. Issues such as outdated surveillance equipment, insufficient patrolling assets, and limited integration of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), satellite monitoring, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are explored. The study delves into key security threats, with a special focus on terrorism and piracy. The 2008 Mumbai terror attacks serve as a case study to underscore vulnerabilities in India's coastal security apparatus. The attacks exposed critical lapses, including inadequate intelligence sharing, poor coastal surveillance, and the ease with which terrorists infiltrated Indian waters. Similarly, piracy remains a pressing issue, particularly along the western coast and in areas near the Gulf of Aden, where Indian commercial vessels frequently operate. The analysis extends to other maritime threats such as illegal fishing, arms smuggling, and trafficking of narcotics and human beings, all of which pose significant risks to national security. Environmental challenges also play a crucial role in shaping India's maritime security discourse. Rising sea levels, coastal erosion, and increasing frequency of cyclones threaten coastal infrastructure and livelihoods. Additionally, pollution from industrial and shipping activities exacerbates ecological degradation, which, in turn, impacts economic activities such as fishing and tourism. Climate change-induced security risks, including resource competition and displacement of coastal communities, necessitate a comprehensive strategy to integrate environmental sustainability with maritime security policies. The paper further discusses prospective measures and strategic initiatives that India must undertake to strengthen its maritime security framework. Emphasis is placed on technological innovations such as the development of a robust coastal radar network, enhanced satellite surveillance, and the use of AI-driven predictive analytics for threat detection. Strengthening domestic cooperation between various maritime security agencies and improving coordination with neighbouring countries through regional alliances like the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and the QUAD are also explored as crucial elements of India's maritime security strategy. International cooperation remains a cornerstone of effective maritime security. India's active participation in initiatives such as the Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) and its engagement in anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia highlight the importance of global partnerships in ensuring regional stability. Moreover, fostering stronger defense collaborations with countries like the United States, Japan, Australia, and France through joint naval exercises, intelligence sharing, and technology transfer can significantly enhance India’s maritime security capabilities. The paper concludes by underscoring the significance of maritime security in shaping India's future. Given its geopolitical position and economic dependencies on maritime trade, safeguarding India's maritime interests is imperative. Policymakers and stakeholders must prioritize comprehensive security reforms, technological advancements, and strengthened regional and international collaborations to mitigate evolving threats. Recommendations include streamlining inter-agency coordination, investing in maritime infrastructure, enhancing surveillance capabilities, and implementing sustainable maritime policies that balance security with environmental conservation. By adopting a proactive and integrated approach, India can effectively address its maritime security challenges and reinforce its position as a leading maritime power in the Indo-Pacific region.

ABSTRACTThe Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) identified maritime safety and security as one of the six priority areas for cooperation among the member states. Hence, there is a need to develop a legal framework for maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region, ratify applicable international legal conventions on maritime security and create a system for the resolution of disputes among IORA member states. This paper proposes that there exists a strong case for the IORA charter to be amended to provide for a mechanism that IORA member states can use as a forum for dispute resolution. It argues that such a forum will create a platform for member states for deliberating weighty and controversial issues without jeopardising progress within the association. The paper further proposes the creation of an IORA legal group of experts whose mandate should include the development of a maritime security framework for the Indian Ocean Region, which is critical to the promotion of good order at sea.

ABSTRACTMaritime security is essential to supporting the Blue Economy. Many maritime security forums have been key supporters of the Blue Economy concept, particularly in the Indian Ocean region (IOR). This paper will explore the co-evolution and co-dependence of Blue Economy and maritime security agendas, with a particular focus on the IOR. It identifies two primary interactions between Blue Economy and maritime security interests. Firstly, maritime security is an enabler of the Blue Economy, for example, through safeguarding navigation routes, providing important oceanographic data to marine industries and protecting rights over valuable marine resources and activities within claimed zones of maritime jurisdiction. Secondly, an often overlooked role that maritime security plays in the Blue Economy is by being itself a source of economic development and growth. An expanded Blue Economy will create greater demand for maritime security capabilities, and this, in turn, will trigger increased investment and growth in these capabilities. The enhanced and increasingly diverse role that maritime security will continue to play in the Blue Economy can be seen across all sectors in the IOR.

The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is an important region in the global oceans due to its location and population along with emergence of new world power centers in the form of countries linked with this ocean. Major trade and energy lines pass through this ocean due to which maritime security and stability of the region are very important. To overcome these requirements, traditional as well as innovative solutions are required to be implemented. A paradigm shift is also required to enhance Regional Arrangements for Regional Disaster Response as well as Search and Rescue Operations for which role of technology in improving maritime security cannot be underestimated. This requirement rises from increasing mutual security concerns from states both in the IOR and Asia Pacific region. Technological developments are posing new threats to countries from non-state actors and causing states to mutually cooperate. As a result, emergence of these problems requires regional and global strategies for mutual cooperation. This paper presents an overview of maritime security challenges in the IOR. The role of technological advancement and innovative solutions in improving maritime security in IOR is discussed. It is hypothesized that using advanced technologies the maritime security of the IOR can be improved.

ABSTRACTThis paper considers arrangements for providing maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) at both the national and regional levels. The main requirement at the regional level is a mechanism or mechanisms for cooperation on maritime security concerns both between regional countries themselves and between these countries and the extra-regional countries that have a legitimate interest in IOR maritime security. At a national level the necessary capacity for providing maritime security includes arrangements for coordination between the various agencies involved and the operational capabilities for maritime law enforcement to provide good order at sea. The paper discusses the relative attributes of a navy or a coast guard to provide these capabilities. It concludes with ideas about how maritime security governance in the IOR might be improved.

Maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) has become a paramount consideration; a range of traditional and non-traditional security challenges largely converge at sea. Risk-based processes offer the potential to engage in a positive, constructive and non-confrontational approach that will help to identify collective and cooperative security strategies. Analysing the evolving maritime security risk context provides a powerful tool for understanding common risks and vulnerabilities that affect regional and extra-regional actors with interests in the IOR. This can provide the impetus for diverse actors, primarily states, to cooperate to advance common objectives and protect shared interests without significantly compromising territorial integrity or sovereignty, against a range of risks that no single actor has the ability to mitigate. Commissioning a multinational, multi-disciplinary team of experts to conduct a regional strategic risk assessment, with a specific focus upon maritime security, should be a priority. Maritime security cooperation in the IOR could, if managed astutely and prudently, bind a diverse and largely disaggregated region.

Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance systems (ISR) have been playing a significant role in providing robust situational awareness of the maritime domain. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the ISR systems of India and China in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), a region of immense geopolitical significance and a theatre of power projection for both the countries. After tracing the evolution of ISR from ancient time to modern era, the study underscores the critical role of ISR in maritime security and strategic advantage, particularly in the IOR. The paper finds that, in accordance with its Two Ocean strategy, China has been expanding its ISR infrastructure in the IOR. Chinese naval activities, including submarine deployment, research vessels suspected of conducting covert surveillance in the eastern Indian Ocean, classified use of its satellite systems, use of air based ISR systems as force multipliers, and acquisition of bases in the IOR has potential to alter power dynamics in the IOR. These developments allow China to exert geopolitical influence and potentially challenge India’s traditionally dominant position in the IOR. The paper further delves into examining factors influencing the ISR force structure of India and China, including defence expenditure, military modernisation drive, development in Defence Industrial Base (DIB), and the role of commandand-control structure. Finally, this research tries to provide recommendations for India to enhance its ISR infrastructure, emphasizing the need to invest in HUMINT and TECHINT capabilities and enhanced inter-agency coordination. Overall, the paper provides a comprehensive assessment of the ISR landscape in the IOR.

The Indian Ocean Region is moving to the centre of the global geostrategic agenda. Resource competition and energy security, environmental and economic issues exacerbated by climate change; the involvement of external powers like China, and the emergence of regional powers like India underscore a heightened need for attention to this region. Concomitantly, Indian Ocean sea lines of communication are becoming increasingly important to global and regional commerce. Related security issues largely converge in the maritime domain. There is little history of region-wide security cooperation and a lack of regional institutions in the Indian Ocean Region. Non-conventional threats posing collective security risks to common interests present the most realisable prospects, at least initially, for the development of collective security dialogue and mechanisms. Such arrangements need to involve both regional and extra-regional powers that have interests to protect and capacities to assist. Given geography and the diverse nature of the region, maritime security offers the most compelling area for cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region. Efforts to facilitate collective security dialogue and establish maritime security cooperative mechanisms and habits need to be urgently progressed at official, non-official and operational levels.

The Indian Ocean region (IOR) is fast becoming a major area of global political and security interest. The region’s political and security context is quickly changing due mainly to expanding and competing Chinese and Indian spheres of influence along with relatively declining United States power. Traditional security concerns like maintenance of the freedom of maritime navigation and unfettered access to and transport of vital energy supplies are increasing in importance in the Indian Ocean. In addition, non-traditional security threats emanating from the impacts of climate change and the effects of population and industrial growth are presenting major resource management and environmental, human and food security challenges. These security challenges largely converge in the maritime domain. It is imperative that IOR-wide maritime security cooperation be progressed. Regional and extra-regional nation-states have interests to protect and capacities to contribute to IOR security. Arrangements need to be devised to accommodate the involvement of both. In this article it is argued that greater attention needs to be given to Indian Ocean maritime security and the development of IOR maritime security regimes need to be pursued as a matter of urgency.

This chapter addresses the emerging multilateral security architecture in the Indo-Pacific, and evaluates India's contributions to the regional institutions concerned with maritime security. It assesses the strengths and weaknesses of these contributions. The chapter then considers that the situation in what is described as the Indo-Pacific spanning both the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and East Asia, it pays particular attention to the likelihood of a stable cooperative maritime security regime in the IOR and considers the implications for India's maritime strategy. It considers the institutions that do or should address maritime security, including piracy, maritime terrorism and the risks of interstate conflict. The Indo-Pacific system is less attractive, however, to China which can view the system as part of efforts to encircle it strategically. It also has little appeal to African countries in the IOR that are more concerned about local issues of governance, poverty, disease and internal security rather than the broader strategic issues implicit in an Indo-Pacific view.

ABSTRACTThe Indian Ocean Region (IOR) has become an area of critical strategic interest. It is also a region that contains a range of serious and evolving non-traditional security problems, including the problem of maritime terrorism. As a result, many IOR states have called for stronger pan-regional intelligence collaboration to assist in risk mitigation against such violent and destabilizing threats. This article explores the challenges involved in establishing an effective intelligence exchange network in a region characterized by mistrust, diversity and a lack of established security priorities and protocols. Building upon the success of the IOR’s joint counter-piracy operations, it will argue that a less burdensome network-based approach is needed that can concentrate on issue-specific competencies and commonalties among states. In particular, while not without limitations, a more loosely coordinated and informal network governance approach can enhance opportunities to improve information-sharing to address common maritime security challenges, such as maritime terrorism, among IOR and extra-regional states.

The most pressing issue in the region is perhaps maritime security and piracy, which has required the United Nations (UN) Security Council to take stringent deterring measures. States in the region have also had to deal with illegal fishing and with emerging environmental issues. This chapter deals with these and other current law of the sea issues in the Indian Ocean region, which are assessed from the perspective of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and its settlement of dispute procedures. The Indian Ocean region is vulnerable to natural hazards, including tropical cyclones, draughts and tsunamis, which have caused devastating effects in coastal areas. Regional fisheries management organizations operating in respect of the Indian Ocean play an important role in dealing with the conservation and management of fisheries, including Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. Keywords:dispute procedures; Indian Ocean region; regional fishery; UNCLOS

In the 21st century, India's foreign policy strongly emphasizes the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). As a result, the Island States in the IOR are receiving special attention. Seychelles, among many other Islands, is critical to India's role in the IOR as a net security provider (NSP). India and Seychelles seek to expand their bilateral relationship through collaboration in maritime security. Relations between India and the Seychelles began in 1976, the same year as the Seychelles' independence. Seychelles is an important partner in India's much-heralded SAGAR and an ally in the Western Indian Ocean region (WIOR). Given that the IOR is strategically India's backyard, and is home to important global sea lanes for communications, both traditional and non-traditional threats have grown more severe, thus necessitating extensive bilateral and regional cooperation. Seychelles is navigating through the tough water of balancing between India and China in various strategic issues like that of the Assumption Islands. The region is suffering from non-traditional issues of piracy, illegal fishing, disaster, and irregular migration. Acting as the NSP – India in the past and present has reached out to its partner states through political, economic, and defense alliances. Yet the potential for ensuring comprehensive maritime security cooperation (MSC) is much more and the new academic tilt towards the Indo-Pacific is enriching the Indian Ocean region with multiple state actors. Therefore, the objective of the paper is to analyze various facets of India and Seychelles' MSC and its impact on both nation-states. The methodology adopted is descriptive in presenting the history of bilateral MSC between these nation-states and analytical in understanding challenges faced by these nation-states in the current world order and the impact of India-Seychelles MSC in resolving such challenges.

This paper advances the view that the meaning of maritime security should be considered based on lessons of history and requirements of human well-being. It challenges the tendency to separately view maritime security from the political, economic and social structures of the East African littoral states. Based on a critical reading of the history of the development of violent colonial structures in the region, the paper shows that most security discourses in relation to East Africa advance a paradigm that legitimises the control and management of the region's maritime domain under the surveillance of foreign powers. The framing of poverty and conflicts as internally caused and economically motivated power struggles within fragile states contributes to this paradigm. This paper argues that the East African maritime domain is an integral part of the hinterland, and maritime security should be understood from a perspective that addresses structural violence in the region