A Decade Of SAGAR: Indian Navy And Its Outreach To The Global South – Analysis
On 12 March 2015, during his visit to Mauritius, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had unveiled the contours of India’s maritime outreach policy ‘Security And Growth for All in the Region’ or SAGAR, which aimed to promote a climate of trust and transparency with a respect for international maritime rules and increase maritime cooperation between partners. A decade has passed since the historic maritime pivot of the Government of India (GoI) from a hitherto continental mindset, and SAGAR has emerged as the cornerstone of India’s maritime outlook in a wide array of sectors such as fisheries, environment, oil exploration, trade and security.
Recently, during his visit to Mauritius again as Chief Guest for the island nation’s 57th National Day celebrations, the Prime Minister also outlined the next phase of the maritime outreach codenamed MAHASAGAR or Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security And Growth Across Regions, signalling a shift beyond immediate Indian Ocean neighbours to the larger IOR Rim and Indo-Pacific countries in the Global South. This extension of SAGAR into a greater initiative is indicative of strategic gains achieved through persistent efforts by several key stakeholders through positive engagement with Indian Ocean Region (IOR) partners in the last 10 years.
Amongst the several approaches that were set into motion by the Indian government towards SAGAR, including greater diplomatic efforts and enhancing collaborative mechanisms such as the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), the Indian Navy has played a stellar role in ensuring credible and sustained maritime stability in the IOR. Through its continuous efforts to engage with partner countries in mutual areas of interest such as capability enhancement, infrastructure development, coastal and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) surveillance and information sharing, the Navy has emerged as the ‘Preferred Security Partner in the IOR’ under the overall ambit of SAGAR policy.
The Indian Navy has been rightfully at the forefront of executing SAGAR since the very announcement of the policy was made on the eve of the commissioning of the first-ever Indian warship built for export, now known as Mauritius Coast Guard Ship (MCGS) Barracuda. Constructed and outfitted at the Garden Reach Ship Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata, the Barracuda has been at the forefront of anti-piracy and trafficking and coastal surveillance operations in the South West IOR. Since then, many such ships, submarines and aircraft have been expeditiously handed over by the Indian Navy to several IOR countries, including a submarine to Myanmar, a missile corvette to Vietnam, Dornier maritime patrol aircraft to Sri Lanka and Maldives etc.
In strengthening maritime security in the IOR, the Indian Navy has committed several operational platforms for missions of varying natures. The Mission-Based Deployment philosophy of the Navy, which was adopted in 2017 to meet the requirements of providing military and benign support in affected regions in line with SAGAR, has ensured the continuous availability of Naval ships to help seafarers in times of need.
The recent case of the daring rescue of MV Ruen from pirates off Somalian coast by INS Kolkata, fire-fighting and salvage efforts by INS Sahyadri and Shakti during the MT New Diamond fire incident off Sri Lanka in September 2020 and the vaccine assistance initiative Mission SAGAR by INS Kesari for providing Covid-19 vaccine to Comoros, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius and Seychelles during the pandemic and hydrographic assistance missions to South West IOR countries are just a few amongst the several instances of assistance rendered by Indian Navy.
In the field of maritime surveillance and collaborative information sharing, the Indian Navy has been instrumental in equipping various IOR island countries with coastal radar systems to monitor their vast EEZ. This, along with the information sharing agreements and the central hub for monitoring merchant traffic – the Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) at Gurgaon, has resulted in several successfully coordinated operational missions targeting piracy and illegal trafficking in the IOR. This information transparency has been achieved through established information-sharing mechanisms with other maritime operations centres, especially those in the South West IOR, such as the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC), Madagascar and Regional Coordination and Operations Centre (RCOC). Seychelles, and with other multi-national bodies such as the Indian Ocean Commission and the Djibouti Code of Conduct/Jeddah Agreement (DCOC/ JA).
The Navy’s multi-pronged approach in support of SAGAR’s vision has been instrumental in promoting maritime security and safeguarding the crucial Sea Lanes of Communication in the IOR. The maritime force has thus been recognised for its professional conduct and high training standards. The maritime capabilities have aligned to build relationships, foster cooperation, and enhance mutual understanding amongst nations, which is quite similar to the concept of ‘Vasudev Kutumbakam’, which promotes the idea of universal brotherhood and global interconnectedness. Naval ships, which can travel far and wide in international waters, are an excellent tool for nurturing this relationship and cooperation.
Consequent to the announcement of MAHASAGAR, the Navy has now embarked on a maiden mission to jointly train Naval officers and sailors from South Western IOR countries to combat shared regional maritime challenges. Indian Naval ship Sunayna, which will be named Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) Sagar for the mission’s duration, will be deployed in the South Western IOR commencing 5 April 2025. IOS Sagar will be jointly manned by personnel from different countries, including Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Seychelles, who would be trained in maritime surveillance operations as they set course towards the East Coast of Africa from Karwar.
In the month-long deployment, the crew of IOS Sagar would participate in the maiden Africa India Key Maritime Engagement Exercise (AIKEYME) and make port calls to several significant East African and IOR littoral ports, including Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania), Male (Maldives), Nacala (Mozambique), Port Victoria (Seychelles) and Port Louis (Mauritius). The mission is being accorded attention at the highest levels, with a flag-off by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who will thereafter visit Dar Es Salaam for the inauguration ceremony of AIKEYME.
As India embarks on the greater vision of MAHASAGAR, it would be interesting to focus on the Indian Navy’s future operations to realise the ambitious goal outlined by the Prime Minister. More significant engagements with Navies in the South West IOR through bespoke capacity and capability development programmes would undoubtedly enhance interoperability and help develop a robust response mechanism against traditional and non-traditional maritime threats that directly impact safety and security at sea. By assisting maritime forces in benign security operations, the Indian Navy would undoubtedly help fulfil the holistic advancement of these countries’ security capabilities. As MAHASAGAR unfolds, the gains accrued by SAGAR need to be maintained through sustained combat readiness and expanded maritime presence in the Global South by the valiant men and women in the whites.