UAE-India-France Trilateral: A Mechanism to Advance Strategic Autonomy in the Indo-Pacific?

Abstract

The geopolitical construct of the Indo-Pacific has evolved as one of the most important ones of the twenty-first century and more particularly of the last decade. While there is little or no consensus on where the Indo-Pacific Region (IPR) begins or ends, it has inadvertently become a space where new convergences, competitions and alignments have emerged. These developments are intrinsically linked with the ascent of China as a global power, the retreat of the American strategic footprint and the emergence of a multi-polar world order. Within the larger Indo-Pacific construct, the Western Indian Ocean region is a space of considerable geopolitical and maritime interactions between states. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and India are both countries of the Western Indian Ocean region while France is a resident power of the region owing to the presence of two of its overseas departments—Mayotte and Reunion—and its inter services bases in the UAE and Djibouti. The three countries have considerable experience in operationalising bilateral as well as trilateral initiatives. The lack of such initiatives in the Western Indian Ocean region could therefore offer the opportunity for UAE, India and France to come together in a trilateral arrangement to further their strategic interests and uphold the concept of a ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’. The paper seeks to explore whether a trilateral partnership between the UAE, India and France could contribute to furthering their respective strategic autonomy in the Indo-Pacific Region. The paper will also endeavour to examine the conflicts and differences that could be expected and the possible areas of convergence.