Dr Padmalochan Dash
NEW DELHI: Amidst the mounting fire-fear geopolitics – India and Mauritius are strategically advancing their alliance, signalling a potential shift towards a confederation-type arrangement. This evolving partnership underscores India’s proactive engagement in the Indian Ocean, strengthening its regional influence while countering external strategic pressures. With deep-rooted historical, economic, and security ties, the warming-up strategic alliance seems to be reflecting a calibrated approach towards fostering mutual growth, maritime security, and geopolitical stability in an increasingly contested Indo-Pacific theatre.
Complex interplay of geopolitical and consolidating India-Mauritius relationship:
The evolving India-Mauritius relationship is shaped by a complex interplay of geopolitical, economic, and security considerations. As global warming accelerates sea level rise, Mauritius, like other small island nations, faces existential threats to its coastal infrastructure, economic stability, and long-term viability. Concurrently, its strategic location in the western Indian Ocean Region (IOR) places it at the centre of great power competition, with global players seeking to expand their influence. Given its limited military capacity and economic dependencies, Mauritius faces the delicate challenge of navigating these rivalries without compromising its sovereignty. While it has traditionally pursued a neutral diplomatic stance, China’s increasing investments, infrastructure projects, and strategic influence operations in the region have raised concerns over the potential impact on its autonomy.
On the other hand, India has consistently demonstrated its role as Mauritius’ most reliable security provider, economic benefactor, and first responder during crises. Unlike China, whose engagements often involve opaque financial terms and strategic leverage, India’s approach has been built on collaborative development, capacity-building, and mutual security cooperation. This distinction has made India a preferred partner as Mauritius seeks to maintain strategic autonomy while ensuring economic resilience and maritime security. As a result, their bilateral relationship, historically centred on economic and cultural ties, is transitioning into a more structured strategic partnership. While officially framed as a multifaceted collaboration encompassing trade, infrastructure, and maritime connectivity, underlying developments indicate an evolving security alignment that could redefine regional stability in the western Indian Ocean.
Why Mauritius Matters in Global Geopolitics
- Its Geographic Significance
Situated at the heart of the Indian Ocean, Mauritius provides crucial access to major maritime trade routes linking Asia, Africa, and Europe. Its strategic location makes it a potential logistical hub for naval operations, intelligence gathering, and maritime security initiatives. As global competition intensifies in the Indo-Pacific, the significance of Mauritius in securing regional maritime routes has grown, making it an essential partner for powers seeking to ensure stability and control in the region.
- Growing Great Power Rivalry
The Indo-Pacific has become a primary theatre of strategic competition among major powers, with India, China, the US, and other global players increasing their presence. China’s rising investments in Mauritius and neighbouring islands indicate an effort to expand its geopolitical influence in the IOR, raising concerns about a potential security realignment. As China strengthens its foothold through financial and infrastructural engagements, India is proactively reinforcing its own ties with Mauritius to maintain regional stability and counterbalance Beijing’s influence.
- Climate Change and Security Risks
The impacts of global warming, particularly rising sea levels, pose a significant threat to Mauritius, endangering its coastal infrastructure and economic security. These environmental challenges necessitate increased reliance on external support for climate resilience, disaster management, and economic sustainability. India, recognising these vulnerabilities, has stepped in as a trusted partner, offering financial aid, infrastructure support, and technological expertise to bolster Mauritius’ ability to manage environmental and security risks effectively.
- India’s Strategic Aspirations in the Indo-Pacific
India’s broader Indo-Pacific strategy necessitates a strong presence in the western IOR to safeguard its interests and counterbalance China’s expanding influence. Mauritius plays a pivotal role in this vision, as its alignment with India helps secure critical maritime routes and prevents external forces from asserting dominance in the region. By strengthening its partnership with Mauritius, India ensures that the region remains free from undue external influence, contributing to the stability of maritime trade and security.
Given these factors, India and Mauritius appear to be moving towards a deeper, albeit discreet, strategic understanding—one that has the potential to reshape the security landscape of the Indian Ocean in the coming years.
The Overt Framework: Strengthening Multisectoral Cooperation
- Economic & Trade Engagement
The economic partnership between India and Mauritius has been reinforced through the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA), which has positioned Mauritius as a vital financial hub for India’s trade with Africa. Additionally, India has extended a $500 million Line of Credit to Mauritius, supporting key infrastructure projects such as roads, ports, and urban development. These investments have not only strengthened Mauritius’ economic resilience but also consolidated India’s influence in the region, ensuring a mutually beneficial economic partnership.
- Maritime Security & Connectivity
Recognising the strategic importance of maritime security, India has committed to enhancing Mauritius’ naval capabilities through the provision of patrol vessels, surveillance aircraft, and technical training. These efforts aim to secure key trade routes, deter illegal maritime activities, and reinforce India’s role as a net security provider in the region. As maritime threats evolve, India’s continued support in strengthening Mauritius’ naval infrastructure is instrumental in maintaining regional security and stability.
- India’s Diplomatic & Cultural Influence
Cultural and people-to-people ties remain a cornerstone of the India-Mauritius relationship, with nearly 70% of Mauritius’ population tracing its ancestry to India. India has expanded its influence through scholarships, skill development programmes, and diaspora engagement initiatives, fostering long-term goodwill and deepening diplomatic ties. This cultural connection has been a key factor in ensuring a stable and enduring bilateral relationship.
The Discreet Reality: Growing Military & Intelligence Integration
- Enhanced Indian Military Access to Mauritian Territories
India has been upgrading military infrastructure on Agaléga Island, a development widely believed to facilitate reconnaissance aircraft and maritime intelligence operations. While Mauritius retains full sovereignty over the territory, India’s increasing role in security operations suggests a growing, albeit discreet, integration into regional defence strategies.
- Mauritius’ Security Forces Aligned with India’s Strategic Framework
Mauritius does not maintain a traditional standing military but relies on a small security force for internal defence. India has played a crucial role in training Mauritian security personnel and providing strategic guidance. A deeper security partnership could see Indian military advisors embedded within Mauritius’ defence institutions, further institutionalising bilateral security cooperation.
- Joint Intelligence & Surveillance Initiatives
India is expanding intelligence-sharing mechanisms with Mauritius, focusing on monitoring Chinese naval movements, transnational security threats, and illicit maritime activities. Reports suggest that Mauritius has granted India privileged access to critical naval intelligence networks, enhancing India’s maritime situational awareness in the IOR and reinforcing its strategic depth.
- Maritime Security & Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Cooperation
India’s continued assistance in Mauritius’ naval operations, including the supply of naval assets and training programmes, is gradually integrating Mauritius into India’s broader maritime security strategy. This collaboration enhances India’s ability to oversee and safeguard maritime routes, contributing to overall regional stability.
- Expansion of Defence Logistics & Manufacturing Collaboration
Mauritius is emerging as a logistical hub for Indian naval operations, offering refuelling, maintenance, and resupply facilities for Indian military assets. India is also exploring avenues for Mauritius to serve as an offshore base for defence production and storage, further strengthening its strategic presence in the region.
Strategic Justification: Why a Discreet Security Alignment?
India and Mauritius’ growing defence and intelligence ties are driven by a shared interest in maintaining regional stability. Key motivations include counterbalancing China’s expanding footprint in the IOR, securing critical maritime routes essential for India’s trade and energy security, and reinforcing India’s Indo-Pacific posture. A structured security framework with Mauritius ensures that India maintains its strategic leverage in the western Indian Ocean, preventing any geopolitical shifts that could challenge its interests.
The Road Ahead: Silent but Firm Integration
While an explicit declaration of a strategic confederation remains diplomatically sensitive, incremental developments indicate that India and Mauritius are moving towards a deeper security partnership. Future trends to watch include formal defence agreements granting India extended operational privileges, expanded intelligence coordination, and enhanced military logistics cooperation.
Conclusion: Redefining the Indian Ocean Strategic Landscape
Though officially framed as a partnership in trade, investment, and development, India’s engagement with Mauritius is evolving into a more structured strategic alignment. As both nations navigate an increasingly complex security environment, their cooperation is becoming more integrated, albeit discreetly. Mauritius’ role in India’s security framework is set to grow, potentially laying the groundwork for a structured yet undeclared confederation-like security partnership. The coming years will determine how this evolving dynamic translates into a more formalised strategic arrangement, shaping the future security architecture of the Indian Ocean Region.
(The writer, Dr Padmalochan Dash, is an eminent researcher in geopolitics and international security. He extensively writes on India’s global partnerships, including its relations with South Asian and Southeast Asian countries. Views expressed are personal.)
