India, Maldives and Sri Lanka: Trilateral Cooperation on Maritime Security
In November 2020, the news about the NSA level meeting being held with regard to the trilateral Maritime Security Cooperation in Sri Lanka made headlines. In the joint meeting held by the three countries met after a gap of six years. The meeting laid emphasis on the common security threats and how there is a need for greater cooperation to fight the challenges of terrorism, radicalization, extremism and illegal trade.
The Indian Ocean has become political battle space where all countries are trying to increase its sphere of influence and control to reap the profits. The ‘The Trilateral in Maritime Cooperation' between India, Sri Lanka and Maldives started in 2011 with the aim to bolster the maritime cooperation and security. Till now only three meetings have happened - 2011, 2014 and 2020. The NSA level talks which took place in November, 2020 is hailed as a progress given that the meeting happened after 6 years. But there is more to it.
The NSA level talks are critical as it demonstrate India’s intent to pursue sub regional diplomacy, which has been a part of India's foreign policy from a long time. The Modi government has taken an active role in trying to increase the sub regional cooperation. While regional organizations in South Asia have been futile, small cooperation agreement/treaties have been seen as beneficial to achieve the goals of the country. The Indo-Lanka and Maldives trilateral maritime security dialogue between the is one such example to bolster the cooperation in the region. The recent NSA level meet stressed on the broader themes of maritime security issues like illegal drug and arms trade, anti-piracy, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), regulating the maritime routes by holding joint naval exercises to control the rising piracy in the region. The talks also focused on increasing the awareness in the maritime domain and work together to design collective action on the strengthening the maritime security.
The re-invigoration of the Trilateral Cooperation can also be seen as an attempt made by India to play a pivotal role in the security of the region. Attendance from the top officials from the three countries shows that they are serious about this agreement and are keen on achieving the goal of maritime security. But in order to do this, India needs to have friendly relations with its neighbors. Till now, India has had a rocky bilateral relationship. One of the reasons why the Trilateral Maritime Security Cooperation took a backseat was when Delhi's relationship with Male deteriorated under the Maldivian President Yameen.
Most of the small neighbors’ states of India are keen on increasing non-traditional security cooperation and India under Modi, and the government has taken this in the stride. This is also reflective in the recent NSA level talks as the ambit of security has increased to intel sharing, humanitarian response, developing legal regimes and working extensively on maritime pollution. This accommodative policy of India has been welcomed by both Lanka and Maldives.
However, there is more to achieve and one cannot negate that the timing of the revival of this trilateral cooperation is in line with the threat of the rising influence of China. China, mainly through its development aids and investments has been able to enter into partnerships and agreements with smaller nations in the Indian Ocean in order to complete its dream project of the Belt and Road Initiative. China has invested massively in Sri Lanka and Maldives and has slowly risen to being ahead in the partnerships with them. China's expansion in the Indian Ocean has been concerning for India and even its partner countries like United States, Australia and Japan who are worried about the rising Chinese aggressiveness in the Indian Ocean.
One of the other strategies used by India is to include two more small nations in the trilateral meeting as observers. Seychelles and Mauritius also were also a part of the trilateral meeting through video-conferencing. This strategic coalition is of significant importance as India too has increased its investment in the infrastructural projects for better connectivity and economic profits. India, recently, signed an agreement with Seychelles to develop a military base in Assumption Land and inclusion of Seychelles as an observer state in the trilateral cooperation comes at a good time. Similarly, India gave grant to Mauritius to develop the Supreme Court in Port Louis, an initiative which was very well received by the international community.
The reinvigoration of the trilateral cooperation and inclusion of observer’s members has been hailed as a massive progress by the scholars. While the sub regional cooperation might be a rollercoaster ride, it is something worth pursuing with full force, if India wants to beat China at its own game. At the same time, defining a boundary of the cooperation group may be helpful as it will help in coming up with clear objectives and avoid the overlapping of membership of nation states. The re-invigoration process of the trilateral cannot always happen. While the members have showed renewed vigor, the vigor needs to translate into actions which are not only sustainable but also have a longtime impact. This can only be achieved by investment of both finance and manpower along with the determination from all the nations to make the trilateral maritime cooperation organizations work.
Pic Courtesy-Nitesh Jain at unsplash.com
(The views expressed are personal.)
