Opinion Indias military diplomacy in the Gulf: The importance of Oman
At a time when most major powers are deepening their military cooperation with the Gulf,Indias security ties in the region remain way below potential.
As Defence Minister A K Antony arrives in Muscat on Monday to review and reinforce the bilateral security partnership,he will hopefully measure up to the challenge of intensifying Indias military engagement in the Gulf.
At a time when most major powers – including the older European ones and the new one from China – are deepening their military cooperation with the Gulf,Indias security partnerships in the region remain way below potential.
Within the broadly underdeveloped framework of Indias military diplomacy in the Gulf,Delhis security ties with Muscat are relatively advanced. Since signing of a defence MoU in 2006,bilateral military activities have significantly increased.
These include expanded scope of naval exercises,the initiation of joint exercises between the two air forces,wider use of training facilities and the exploration of possible arms sales.
The imperatives of Indias energy dependence on the Gulf and the growing threats to maritime security in the Arabian sea from piracy in the Gulf of Aden has underlined the importance of Oman.
Straddling across the sea lines of communication in the Arabian Sea as well as the Persian Gulf,Oman is now central to any international strategy to stabilise two of the worlds most volatile littorals.
That Oman is open to deeper security cooperation with India is a blessing that Delhi is yet to grasp fully,for its defence planners have lost a sense of the nation’s historic role in the maintenance of Gulf security.
With its impressive sea-faring tradition and vital location in the trading networks of the Indian Ocean,Oman has always been central to Indias maritime contact and communication in the littoral.
But the more recent story of political engagement between India and Oman dates back to the late 18th century,when the British Raj established the office of a political agent in Muscat.
The Raj and Muscat unveiled formal military cooperation in the early 19th century that was among the first arrangements that formalised British Indias role as the protector of the vulnerable Gulf sheikhdoms.
In order to reduce the threats to maritime trade and shipping,the Government of Bombay established a Persian Gulf Squadron in 1821 to patrol the waters of the Gulf. The squadron consisted of five to seven warships in the age of sail and two to four gunboats in the age of steam.
The special relationship between Delhi and Muscat has just about survived the dissolution of the Raj,the partition of the Subcontinent and the withdrawal of the British from the East of Suez in 1971,and the emergence of the US as the dominant power in the Gulf. It was Delhi that could not devote much attention to the relationship,especially its military component,until recently.
If Antony and his advisers can match the enthusiasm of Oman for stronger defence ties,Delhi may begin to reclaim its natural role in preserving good order at sea in the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf.
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