The Cocos (Keeling) Islands, an Australian external territory, is an archipelago similarly located in strategic waters, south of Sumatra. As the main entry point into the Indian Ocean from the western Pacific, these islands could provide India with unparalleled advantages as Beijing expands its presence in the Indian Ocean. These islands allow a navy to cover the key waterway facilitating trade between East and Southeast Asian countries with Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Part of Indian territory, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the eastern Indian Ocean are located near the Straits of Malacca. While operations from and near these four islands provide good coverage of the south and central Indian Ocean, there are other islands which are equally important but poorly examined. Such presence allows navies to project power, increasing their profile as a net security provider. These islands are vital to, and can facilitate a navy’s continuous presence along, key international shipping routes, allowing a navy to patrol and secure SLOCs during peace times and an option to interdict and cut off an adversary’s communications during times of conflict. Their strategic importance is highlighted by their location along key sea lines of communication (SLOCs). These islands span the ocean from India to Africa. The most widely discussed strategic islands in the Indian Ocean are Sri Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius, and Seychelles.
As with any other maritime space, the islands of the Indian Ocean region will significantly shape the new security architecture in the region. For India, this competition is heightened in the Indian Ocean region. Access to and influence over islands will provide strategic advantages, thereby influencing the response from the other competitors.Īs Beijing continues expanding its presence across the maritime domain, nations are reshaping their maritime strategies to secure their national interests. While partnerships between big and middle powers will determine the balance of power in the region, islands will shape the new framework for a security architecture. In the modern era, especially following the end of the Cold War, the acceptance of the established international order reduced the geopolitical importance of islands.Īs the nations of the Indo-Pacific debate an emerging security architecture, there has been an uptick in collaboration between likeminded countries and deepening partnerships with the littorals. Throughout history, rising nations have controlled strategic islands to project power across vast areas of the globe. The importance of islands in maritime strategy has long been known, but has been underappreciated in recent times.
The visit-the first ever by an Indian head of state-underlines both Madagascar’s strategic location in the southwest Indian Ocean and Delhi’s historical disregard toward island nations, a misstep that the foreign office has begun correcting only recently. Indian president Ram Nath Kovind’s visit to Madagascar in March was a sign of the growing importance of strategic islands in the Indian Ocean region.
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