– By Athmanathan Indrajith
– Intern IPPCS’21
Seychelles is a strategically important country for India. Though the country is small in size, its location is of geostrategic importance, and India should develop its bilateral relations with Seychelles to counter the Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). This article deals with Indo-Seychelles Relations and its future in IOR.
Diplomatic Relations between Seychelles and India started after the Independence of the Seychelles (1976). The Indian Naval Ship, INS Nilgiri had taken part in the Independence Day Celebration of Seychelles in 1976. In 1979, an Indian Mission was established in Victoria, but the first resident High Commissioner was appointed in 1987. Seychelles opened its resident mission in New Delhi in 2008.
The Indian Ocean is a critically important region in the global arena, especially when it comes to military engagement, international trade, and defence cooperation. The Indian Ocean contains half of the world’s container ships, one-third of the world’s bulk cargo traffic, two-thirds of the world’s oil shipments, which is the reason why countries across the globe want to have their military presence, which gives the country the power to disrupt the maritime channels in IOR.
The Chinese are trying to dominate the Indian Ocean Region. Chinese attempts to stay as a dominant power in IOR will pave the way for China to emerge as a global maritime superpower. Dominance is always a threat to international security and global peace. If China has a chance to show its dominance in IOR, India must try to tackle it and retain the balance of power. How can India-Seychelles relations tackle the Chinese dominance in IOR?
This year, India funded several development assistance projects, which were jointly inaugurated virtually by both countries. Along with that, our Prime Minister Narendra Modi handed over a Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) for the use of the Seychelles Coast Guard to strengthen the country’s maritime surveillance capabilities. This FPV will boost the Seychelles Coast Guard’s capability, which helps combat maritime piracy, drugs & arms smuggling, and illegal fishing. Such actions against international crimes will be the primary fruit of the defence cooperation of India with small island nations, including Seychelles. India also developed its defence cooperation with Seychelles by gifting patrol boats, two Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft, and a fast Interceptor boat. In 2018, the then President of Seychelles Danny Faure said that the second Dornier aircraft gifted by India would help bolster the coastal surveillance in IOR to maintain security in IOR. Most importantly, In 2015, India gifted and installed six coastal surveillance radar systems in Seychelles to enable better coastal security. All these attempts are mainly concerned with the security of IOR.
India developed its defence relations with Seychelles perfectly, paving her way to achieving the SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region) vision. During the 2021 Joint Inauguration, Prime Minister Modi said that Seychelles is central to India’s SAGAR Vision. In such cases, India should also develop military cooperation with several island nations, apart from Seychelles. Because the Chinese are developing diplomatic relations with all the six island nations in the Indian Ocean, which makes China the superpower in IOR. So India must develop bilateral relations with all the six countries. In the case of Seychelles, India had developed its relations very well, which is also a way to tackle the security issues in the Mozambique Channel. The Islamic Insurgent group in Mozambique is perpetrating attacks on maritime infrastructures on the Afungi Peninsula. The six coastal surveillance radar systems, gifted by India to Seychelles in 2015, will help tackle the Mozambique Channel security issues caused by such insurgent groups.
The India – Seychelles must also focus on Environmental Issues of the Indian Ocean. Around 1.3 trillion of plastic are floating in the Indian Ocean, which weighs around 188.3 million pounds. Investing more in environmental projects will help to tackle this issue, as India is at the centre of the Indian Ocean, and Seychelles occupies a strategically important position in the Indian Ocean. The defence cooperation between these two countries has enough capacity to tackle both traditional and non-traditional threats. Now it is time to focus on the environmental part. Modi indeed gave a 1 MW solar power plant. However, he should also focus on global environmental threats and tackle them with small island nations, including Seychelles.
Citations:
Baruah, Darshana. “What Is Happening in the Indian Ocean?” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 3 Mar. 2021,
carnegieendowment.org/2021/03/03/what-is-happening-in-indian-ocean-pub-83948. Chaudhury, Anasua Basu Ray. “Looking West: Placing Seychelles within the Indian Strategic Rim.” ORF, 1 Apr. 2020,
www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/looking-west-placing-seychelles-within-the-indian-strate gic-rim-63956.
Ians. “Aircraft from India Would Help Enhance Maritime Surveillance: Seychelles President.” TheQuint, 26 June 2018,
www.thequint.com/hotwire-text/aircraft-from-india-would-help-enhance-maritime-survei llance-seychelles-president.
“India Seychelles Relations.” Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, 2019, mea.gov.in/Portal/ForeignRelation/Ind_Seycelles_2019.pdf.
Mishra, Abhishek. “Mozambique’s Insurgency and India’s Interest.” ORF, 28 Aug. 2021, www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/mozambiques-insurgency-and-indias-interest. “Plastic Pollution: Which Two Oceans Contain the Most?” World Economic Forum, 22 Aug. 2016,
www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/08/plastic-pollution-which-oceans-contain-most. Revi, Vinitha. “India’s Approach towards Seychelles in the Indian Ocean Region.” ORF, 26 Apr. 2021,
www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/indias-approach-towards-seychelles-in-the-indian-ocean -region.
“Seychelles, China Celebrate 45 Years of Diplomatic Ties.” Seychelles News Agency, 26 June 2021, www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/15048/Seychelles%2C+China+celebrate++year s+of+diplomatic+ties.
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