India and the Indian Ocean Region Notes for UPSC: Indo-Pacific, Quad, SAGAR and MAHASAGAR, IORA, Colombo Security Conclave, String of Pearls and Maritime Security Strategy

India is at the centre of the Indian Ocean. Its coastline is about 7,500 km long, more than 90 per cent of its trade by volume moves by sea, and it has the Andaman and Nicobar Islands near the busiest sea lanes of the world. The Indian Ocean, and the larger Indo-Pacific region that links it to the Pacific, has become the main theatre of the great power competition, trade and security. For UPSC, this topic is important for the Prelims (the groupings such as the Quad, IORA, the Colombo Security Conclave, the Malabar exercise) and for the Mains (India's maritime strategy, SAGAR and MAHASAGAR, the Chinese presence and the freedom of navigation). These notes explain the strategic importance of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), the concept of the Indo-Pacific, India's policies and the partnerships, the issues and the way forward.

Why the Indian Ocean Region Matters

• Trade and energy: A huge part of the world's oil and the container trade passes through the Indian Ocean, via the chokepoints of Hormuz, Bab-el-Mandeb and Malacca. See our notes on the for the details of these passages.
• Resources: Fisheries, the seabed minerals (polymetallic nodules, for which India has exploration contracts), oil and gas and the blue economy.
• Security: The piracy, terrorism, trafficking, illegal fishing and the rivalry of the naval powers.
• Climate and disasters: The cyclones, tsunamis and the sea-level rise affect the island and the coastal states, and so the cooperation on the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) is vital.

The Concept of the Indo-Pacific

The older term "Asia-Pacific" did not include the Indian Ocean. The new concept of the Indo-Pacific joins the Indian and Pacific Oceans into one strategic space, from the east coast of Africa to the west coast of the Americas, and puts India in the centre. India's vision was presented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in 2018: a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, with the ASEAN centrality, the rule of law and the freedom of navigation, peaceful settlement of disputes and the equal access to the common spaces. India does not see it as a closed group aimed at any country.

In 2019, India announced the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI), which has seven pillars: maritime security, maritime ecology, maritime resources, capacity building and resource sharing, disaster risk reduction and management, science, technology and academic cooperation, and trade, connectivity and maritime transport.

India's Policy Frameworks

Important Regional Groupings and Partnerships

India's Naval and Maritime Capabilities

• The Indian Navy is among the largest in the world, with the aircraft carriers INS Vikramaditya and the indigenous INS Vikrant (commissioned in 2022), and the nuclear submarines.
• The Indian Navy is called the "first responder" and the "net security provider" in the Indian Ocean, through the anti-piracy patrols off Somalia, the HADR missions (such as in the Mozambique cyclone and the Maldives water crisis), and the escort of the merchant ships in the Red Sea in recent years.
• The Andaman and Nicobar Command (2001) is the first tri-service theatre command of India, and the new infrastructure at the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Lakshadweep (Minicoy) is being developed.
• India has developed the logistics agreements with the partners and the access to the facilities such as the Duqm port in Oman and the Chabahar port in Iran.

The Blue Economy and the Law of the Sea

The blue economy means the sustainable use of the ocean resources for the economic growth, better livelihoods and the health of the ocean ecosystem. India has launched the Deep Ocean Mission (2021) for the exploration of the deep sea minerals, the marine biodiversity and the ocean technology, and it has the exploration licences from the International Seabed Authority for the polymetallic nodules in the Central Indian Ocean Basin. India follows the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which gives every coastal state a 12 nautical mile territorial sea and the 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone, and the right of the innocent passage to the ships of all states. India supports the "freedom of navigation" and the peaceful solution of the disputes in line with the UNCLOS, as in the 2014 award in the maritime boundary dispute with Bangladesh.

China's Presence and the Concerns

China's growing presence in the Indian Ocean is a major issue. It has built or financed the ports in the region (Gwadar in Pakistan, Hambantota in Sri Lanka, Kyaukpyu in Myanmar and Chittagong in Bangladesh), set up the first overseas military base at Djibouti, and sends the research and survey vessels to the Indian Ocean. India sees this as the increase in the strategic pressure, while China says its aims are commercial and for the safety of its trade. The "string of pearls" is the term used by the analysts for this network. The Indian response includes the stronger navy, the partnerships with the other countries, the development projects in the neighbourhood and the capacity building of the smaller states.

Challenges

• The balance between the strategic autonomy and the partnerships with the US-led groupings.
• The debt and the political pressure on the smaller Indian Ocean countries, and the difficulty of the competing with China's financial power.
• The non-traditional threats: piracy, the illegal fishing, drug trafficking, the climate disasters and the pollution.
• The lack of a binding regional security structure, as the groupings are loose.
• The risk of the militarisation of the Indian Ocean and the rivalry of the major powers.

The Mains Angle: Way Forward

A balanced answer says that India's approach is cooperative and not confrontational. Suggest: strengthening the naval and the coast guard capabilities and the maritime domain awareness; deeper partnerships with the like-minded countries and the ASEAN, while keeping the strategic autonomy; the development assistance and the connectivity projects in the Indian Ocean littoral states, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and the Seychelles; promoting the blue economy, the marine science and the HADR cooperation; the support for the rule of law under the UNCLOS and the peaceful solution of the disputes; and the use of the multilateral platforms like the IORA and the BIMSTEC. Link it with our notes on India and Its Neighbours and the Global Groupings for the wider context.

Previous-Year Style Practice

• Where is the headquarters of the Indian Ocean Rim Association? Answer: Ebene, Mauritius.
• Which four countries form the Quad? Answer: India, the USA, Japan and Australia.
• What does SAGAR stand for? Answer: Security and Growth for All in the Region.
• Which was the first tri-service command of India? Answer: The Andaman and Nicobar Command.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is the Indo-Pacific?

The strategic region that joins the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean into one space.

What does SAGAR stand for?

Security and Growth for All in the Region, announced by India in 2015.

What is MAHASAGAR?

The vision announced in 2025 to broaden the SAGAR with the Global South in the maritime cooperation.

Which countries are in the Quad?

India, the United States, Japan and Australia.

Where is the IORA secretariat?

At Ebene in Mauritius.

What is the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative?

An initiative of India (2019) with the seven pillars for the cooperative maritime security and development.

What is the Malabar exercise?

A naval exercise of India, the US, Japan and Australia.

What is the string of pearls?

A term for China's network of the ports and the facilities around the Indian Ocean.

What is the Colombo Security Conclave?

A grouping of India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Mauritius (with others joining) for the maritime security cooperation.

Which is the first indigenous aircraft carrier of India?

INS Vikrant, commissioned in 2022.

What is IFC-IOR?

The Information Fusion Centre for the Indian Ocean Region at Gurugram, for the maritime information sharing.

How is this topic asked in UPSC?

As the groupings and the policies in the Prelims, and as India's maritime strategy and the Chinese presence in the Mains.