IOR-ARC

This paper reviews the existing multilateral structures in the IOR - notably the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) – in the context of various geopolitical facets, ranging from geo-economics to regional security and good order. It examines and recommends options to bolster economic multilateralism in the IOR though a comprehensive two-fold approach. The first one seeks to enhance intra-regional trade, maritime-economic connectivity, and technology sharing, delving into issues relating to a region-wide FTAs, the amalgamation of economic corridors within IORA, and, the ‘Make in India’ initiative. The second is founded upon the indispensability of a secure and conducive maritime environment for economic development, and addresses Maritime Safety and Security (MSS), as also ‘good order’ in the IOR.  It suggests measures to bolster the IORA’s nascent MSS architecture with a web of bilateral, trilateral and sub-regional mechanisms, emphasising the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) as the key functional enabler of IORA’s MSS agenda. It also examines the imminent challenges relating to Freedom of Navigation (FoN), and undertakes an appraisal of Sri Lanka’s draft Code of Conduct (CoC) for the Indian Ocean. The arguments presented hinge upon the suggestion that the collective approach of the IOR countries should ideally be in consonance with India’s prime-ministerial enunciation of the concept of SAGAR — Security And Growth for All in the Region. If each Indian Ocean country’s economy is a ‘boat’, the Indian ‘boat’ cannot rise unless all ‘boats’ rise with a rising economic tide.

Far from being ‘naturally’ delineated by geography or bound solely through shared culture, regions are actively constructed by states and other actors pursuing specific interests. In this article, we analyse the region-building efforts of two rising powers – Brazil and India – as they work to project power and enhance their influence within the Atlantic and Indian oceans, respectively. Through a comparison of their behaviours within their maritime spaces – including naval build-up, international cooperation, and efforts to revive institutions such as ZOPACAS and IOR-ARC – we argue that Brazil and India are paying increasing attention to oceanic rims, albeit for somewhat disparate reasons. While India is increasingly concerned with the role of China within the Indian Ocean, for which it has had to rely on US support, Brazil is primarily driven to protect its oil and to minimise the role of the US and NATO in the South Atlantic. In both spaces, however, the rise of so-called non-traditional threats, including piracy, has further motivated these states' maritime power strategies. The analysis suggests that, within the context of the post-Cold War period, rising powers have begun redefining their strategic regions in terms of their maritime perimeters as a way to project power and influence beyond their continental vicinities.

Far from being ‘naturally’ delineated by geography or bound solely through shared culture, regions are actively constructed by states and other actors pursuing specific interests. In this article, we analyse the region-building efforts of two rising powers – Brazil and India – as they work to project power and enhance their influence within the Atlantic and Indian oceans, respectively. Through a comparison of their behaviours within their maritime spaces – including naval build-up, international cooperation, and efforts to revive institutions such as ZOPACAS and IOR-ARC – we argue that Brazil and India are paying increasing attention to oceanic rims, albeit for somewhat disparate reasons. While India is increasingly concerned with the role of China within the Indian Ocean, for which it has had to rely on US support, Brazil is primarily driven to protect its oil and to minimise the role of the US and NATO in the South Atlantic. In both spaces, however, the rise of so-called non-traditional threats, including piracy, has further motivated these states' maritime power strategies. The analysis suggests that, within the context of the post-Cold War period, rising powers have begun redefining their strategic regions in terms of their maritime perimeters as a way to project power and influence beyond their continental vicinities.