India covers a total geographical territory of 3,287,240 sq km (1,269,210 sq miles) and according to the census conducted in 2011, the population of India is 1,210,193,422. That strategically makes it the seventh largest and the second most populated country in the world. Geographically, it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, the Bay of Bengal on the east and sharing land borders with Pakistan on the west, China, Nepal and the Bhutan in the north and the northeast, and Bangladesh and Myanmar in the east. It shares maritime boundaries with Pakistan in the west, Sri Lanka in the south, Bangladesh in the east and its islands of Andaman and Nicobar share it with Thailand and Indonesia.
The Indian Ocean, the only one bearing a country’s name, is the third largest water body in the world having vital sea lanes and some of Asia’s largest flourishing economies on its rim. It is bounded by Asia in north, Africa in the west, Japan and Australia in the east and Antarctica in the south. Numerous small islands like Comoros, Seychelles, Maldives, Mauritius, Coco, Diego Garcia, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar, and the bigger ones like Madagascar, and Sri Lanka are strategically vital for the bigger players, offering those as staging platforms in projection of their blue water capabilities. Interestingly, more than half the world’s armed conflicts are presently located in the Indian Ocean region with North Korea, China, India, Pakistan, Iran, Israel and Saudi Arabia with the likely borrowed nuclear war heads from Pakistan, having potential nuclear confrontation capabilities. China’s massive soft diplomacy campaign and liberal aid to small underdeveloped but strategically vital oceanic countries to build economic corridors, roads, dams, railways and ports and offering military assistance has changed the geo-strategic environment in the Indian Ocean region. Piracy around the coast of Aden, excessive fishing by the other countries and damage to sea ecology are the other major concerns. China’s illicit claims on the South China Sea for abundance of hydrocarbon presence have created complex international security concerns.
The Straits of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf in the Indian Ocean in the west is one of the world’s most strategically important choke points. At its narrowest, the strait is 39 km wide. On the east in the Indian Ocean is the Straits of Malacca, having thousands of islets that offer ideal hiding places to pirates connecting the China Sea with the Indian Ocean. It is most notorious for piracy between the sea route from the Suez Canal to East Asia affecting India and China. World trade and energy resources have to pass through these “choke points” between areas of production and their final destination, making them strategically very vital oceanic locations for the international trade. The International Chamber of Commerce’s International Maritime Bureau (London) states that the waters around the Indian subcontinent are among the most dangerous and there were 199 pirate attacks on the merchant vessels in the subcontinent’s waters between 2006 and 2012. The report warned mariners to be extra cautious off East and West Africa and Navies are deterring piracy off Africa’s east coast with pre-emptive strikes and actions against the mother ships of pirates. The land mass of Asia and Africa hugging it have seen some of the fiercest wars and insurgencies including the ongoing wars from the Middle East unto and Afghanistan.
Rapid growth of the Indian and the Chinese economies depend on uninterrupted crude supply and free SLOC. But lately, China has been openly very assertive to secure ports, military, communication, logistics support bases in Indian Ocean Rim Countries and small island nations to increase its influence from Japan to Sudan both in the Indian and Pacific Oceans and secure uninterrupted trade and crude supplies from the Middle East to the mainland. This would give easy access to nuclear Chinese ships and the Chinese sponsored Gawadar Port in nuclear Pakistan which is secretly supplying tactical nuclear weapons to Saudi Arabia to counter Iran which may pass nuclear arsenals produced clandestinely. This has created grave security concerns for India and the EU, the US, Russia, Australia and Japan are equally concerned over it.
Strategic Importance of Lakshadweep, Minicoy and Andaman & Nicobar (A&N) Islands
* These Islands away from the main land provide strategic and political advantage to India.
* Act as eyes and ears and provide launching platforms for operations. If not well protected, they can be captured /misused by our adversaries causing great psychological and strategic loss.
* Help secure Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs) in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.
* Help monitor marine traffic between the Straits of Hormuz to the Straits of Malacca.
* Extend India’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) that is rich in minerals and marine life.
India’s Major Security Concerns
Land borders
India has 15,106.7 km. of land border mainly with Myanmar, Bangladesh, China, Nepal, Bhutan and Pakistan the border with neighboring countries specially Pakistan and China are long disputed and many a wars have been fought over it. Porous borders to Indian disadvantage are used for cross border terrorism, smuggling of arms ammunition, narcotics, FICN and illegal immigration to India.
Coast Line
Indian coastline stretches about 5,700 km on the mainland and totals 7,516.16 km including the two island territories on the south-east and the south-west of the Indian peninsula. The Indian coastline is facing increasing human pressures, over-exploitation of marine resources, dumping of industrial and toxic wastes, oil spills and leaks resulting in increasing global warming and damage to marine ecosystems. There is a large amount of piracy along the coast of Aden and Somalia, illegal fishing, poaching, smuggling and influx of refugees, human trafficking and illegal usage in hiding narcotics, weapons and explosives in uninhibited islands. Recently, the US-owned private ship MV Seaman Guard Ohio was apprehended with private armed security guards giving protection to merchant vessels sailing around the Straits of Hormuz. Such vessels can ferry terrorists to launch 26/11 like operations, human trafficking and smuggle drugs, weapons and fake Indian currency notes (FICN).
Major Coastal Security Implications for India
* 7516.16 km coast line in close proximity to Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Burmese, Indonesian and Sri Lankan territorial waters.
* India’s energy needs and sea trade both with countries in the West through safe and the East through secure SLOC needs to be ensured.
* Large numbers of islands, creeks and illegal landing sites.
* Excellent road and rail links along the entire coast.
* Various pro-Pak Muslim pockets along the western coast.
* Bangladeshi refugee settlements along the Orissa coast line.
* Influx of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees and militants in Tamil Nadu.
* Offers ideal sea lanes for human trafficking, smuggling of narcotics, weapons, explosives and hawala money.
* Disputes over maritime boundaries and exclusive economic zones with Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
* Presence of large number of vital strategic installations along the coast line requires major resources in industrial security.
* There is an upward surge in private floating armories in the Indian Ocean especially in the Arabian Sea triggered due to piracy attacks that could be misused to unleash 26/11 like attacks.
Hot Spots in Indian Ocean Region
* The Asia-Pacific Region also known as Indo-Asia-Pacific Region is in turmoil due to political, social, economic, and cultural unrest due to rivalry between the US and China. There is need to have sustained dialogue between both the powers keeping economic, political and security aspirations of the regional countries.
* Nuclear North Korea, like Pakistan, is the closest Chinese ally bullying South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and the Philippines.
* China dubiously claims exploring crude in South China Sea.
* China supports insurgencies in Myanmar and many East Asian countries with moral and material support.
* India and China and India and Pakistan have major unresolved borders and river water disputes.
* Sri Lanka has just got over the Tamil Tigers’ insurgency. Myanmar still simmers with countless tribal insurgent movements supported by China.
* Afghanistan is in turmoil and Pakistan is a rouge state. Saudi Arabia is fighting wars with Yemen and Iran while Iran has a hostile neighbor in Iraq and both Iran and Saudi Arabia allegedly possess small tactical nuclear weapons. Israel too has nuclear weapons and at war in the Middle East. The ISIS is involved in complex terrorist wars in Syria, Iraq, Turkey with big players like the US, Russia and the EU taking sides with the varying factions leading to refugees exodus to Turkey and the EU besides killing and wounding millions and causing vast destruction. Sudan and Libya are equally wrecked.
Conclusion
India, China and the US are the three major players in the Indian Ocean. Through diplomacy, talks, cooperation and co-existence they need to ensure peace and tranquility in the IOR. India is morally supported by the EU, Japan and Australia and most of the Asia- Pacific Region countries in its peace quest conducive for economic growth and peace in the region, or else, the turmoil will have heavy toll of men and materials in world’s most war torn IOR.