To boost ties,Antony heads to Seychelles

The purpose of Antony’s weekend visit to Seychelles is to institutionalise the well-established,but somewhat ad hoc,defence cooperation with the island nation that straddles the sea lines of communication across the Indian Ocean.

Along with Mauritius,Seychelles is part of the Chagos Archipelago that has long attracted the strategic affections of the great maritime powers,including Portugal,France,Great Britain,the United States and Russia. More recently China,whose interests in the Indian Ocean are growing rapidly,has signaled its interest in the southern islands by sending its President Hu Jintao to Seychelles (2007) and Mauritius (2009). Hu had picked the President of Seychelles,James Michel,as one of the few international leaders he would meet at opening ceremony of the world expo at Shanghai recently.

Instead of objecting to China’s naval activism,Delhi appears to have recognised the importance of getting its own act together in the Indian Ocean.

India received President Michel at the beginning June. The series of exchanges at the highest political level between India and Seychelles in the last two months are about imparting a genuine strategic content to their partnership.

India has had an MoU on defence cooperation with Seychelles since 2003,and has provided trainers,advisers and equipment to the forces of Seychelles. The Indian Navy now makes frequent port calls in Seychelles and is actively helping the nation combat the pirates undermining the two basic sources of livelihood tourism and fisheries.

Stepping up bilateral cooperation against piracy and modernising the maritime infrastructure are said to be at the top of Antony’s agenda in Seychelles.

The 150-odd islands of Seychelles add up to a land mass of only 450 sq km. But its Exclusive Economic zone,extending 200 nautical miles from the coastline,is about 1.3 million sq km.

Seychelles is looking to India to help it monitor and police this vast sea-estate and develop natural resources there.

During his visit to southern Indian Ocean earlier this month,Foreign Minister Krishna had agreed to transfer an off-shore patrol vessel valued at $60 million to Mauritius. As part of its commitment to building the maritime capacities of Seychelles,India presented a vessel,INS Taramugli,in 2005.

Naval experts in Delhi argue that India must go beyond such ad hoc gestures and develop a sustainable framework for assisting the smaller states of the Indian Ocean. Such a policy would demand better coordination between the Navy,the Foreign Office and the Defence Ministry. India would also need ear-marked resources –financial and material — to back up its potential role as a security provider in the Indian Ocean.