Why India and France Need to Sail Together on the Indian Ocean

India-France maritime cooperation along the Indian Ocean can give India a strategic leverage, writes Abir Pal.

As French President Francois Hollande visits Delhi as the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations, a discussion point on his agenda will be to formulate a joint strategy for the Indian Ocean. This visit is expected to build on the foundation laid last year in April when Prime Minister Modi visited Paris and will cement France as a key ally in India’s vision of deepening its strategic presence in the Indian Ocean.

The two countries agreed to commence bilateral dialogue to discuss ways and means of enhancing their cooperation in the maritime domain, in particular in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Joint Statement after 2015 meeting

France plays a leading role in the Indian Ocean Commission, an organisation through which significant development assistance from the European Union is channelled. It continues to maintain a military presence in the ocean – through which some of the world’s busiest ‘shipping lines’ pass – with two military bases at La Reunion and Mayotte equipped with ground troops and frigates. This is supplemented by a significant deployment in Abu Dhabi and in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa.

Indo-French Cooperation

• India and China roll out naval strategies to exercise control in the Indian Ocean.
  
• France dominates the south-western part of the Indian Ocean, which is of strategic importance to India as well.
  
• French island of La Reunion harbours many Indians of Gujarati origin, making shared interest more inevitable.
  
• Since 1998 when France opposed US sanctions following India’s nuclear test, strategic objectives of both countries have been increasingly aligned.

Indian Ocean: Arena of Power Play

The Indian Ocean is the world’s third largest water body and very significant to the future of geopolitics in the 21st century. If Europe was the centre-stage for most global conflicts in the last century, it is the Indian Ocean that will be the arena for power play in the 21st century. Recently in a game of competitive maritime manoeuvring, India and China have been beefing up regional alliances and rolling out naval strategies to control this stretch of water bound by Asia on the north, Africa on the west and Australia on the east.

Historically France’s sphere of influence predominates in the south-western part of the Indian Ocean, especially along the Mozambique channel and Madagascar. The Mozambique channel is a key shipping route between the Middle East and the Atlantic Ocean and is a focus for India’s strategic ambitions in that part of the ocean.

Though Paris may be 5,000 kilometres away from the Indian Ocean, France needs to nurture and safeguard its exclusive economic zone which sprawls over 2.6 million square kilometres; accordimng to a policy report prepared by Isabelle Saint-Mezard of the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies. In addition to her economic interests, over a million French citizens reside in the territories of La Reunion and Mayotte and their sovereign interests need to be protected.

Extending India’s Security Role

There is a shared interest with India because Indians – especially those of Gujarati origin – have been residing in this part of the Indian Ocean for a long time and control a significant portion of the local economy. A quarter of the population of La Reunion is of Indian origin and Madagascar, a former French colony, along the Mozambique Channel has many Indian businesses.

Since the publication of the Southern Indian Ocean Blue Book in 2011, France has been working strategically to promote its influence in this region and a partnership with India will lend it formidable geopolitical heft. Writes David Brewster in India’s Ocean: The Story of India’s bid for Regional Leadership,

India is also developing a close security relationship with Mozambique on the African side of the channel and is seeking to develop a security role with Madagascar on the eastern side. A cooperative relationship with France is an important way of extending India’s security role in the Mozambique channel and throughout the southwest.

Since 1998 when France opposed imposition of US sanctions following India’s nuclear test, the strategic objectives of the two nations have been increasingly aligned. Suggests Saint-Mezard in the policy report titled The French Strategy in the Indian Ocean and the potential for Indo-French cooperation,

France could also develop further naval cooperation with India on the basis of its strategic interests in the Western Indian Ocean. For instance, it could suggest joint manoeuvres in the Mozambique Channel.

(Abir Pal is a journalist and communication professional based in Kolkata.)

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