India Pledges to Support Mauritius in Surveillance of Chagos Islands

 

As the UK plans to hand over Chagos Islands to Mauritius, India is eyeing to exert its influence on the archipelago. Last week, Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam made a state visit to India, where together with Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed on several bilateral pacts spanning power sector, port development and maritime security. A major highlight of the discussion between the two leaders is India offering to assist Mauritius as it moves to assert its sovereignty over Chagos Islands.

Modi congratulated his Mauritian counterpart on the return of Chagos Islands, terming the measure as a historic milestone. “India has always supported decolonization and stood firmly with Mauritius in this journey,” added Modi.

However, the Chagos Islands takeover means Mauritius will have an expanded maritime zone to monitor. Currently, the size of Mauritius EEZ is estimated at 2.3 million square kilometers for a country with a modest coast guard, operating less than a dozen patrol vessels. Commenting on the new obligations for Mauritius, India’s Foreign secretary Vikram Misri said that India remains ready to provide the needed assistance.

“Mauritius has many more responsibilities now. It needs maritime resources, and in order to be able to fully develop and exploit those resources, it will need assistance. India is a preferred partner in providing that assistance. In addition, maritime security cooperation would help counter illegal fishing, arms and drug trafficking through support with equipment, platforms and trained personnel,” noted Misri.

Part of this support also includes surveillance of Chagos Marine Protected Area (MPA). The U.K government designated the MPA back in 2010, and it remains one of the world’s largest MPAs at a size of 640,000 square kilometers. Notably, Mauritian PM Ramgoolan requested Modi to provide an Indian ship for a planned mission to the Chagos Islands.

“We want to visit Chagos to put our flag there. The British offered us a vessel, but we said we preferred one from India because symbolically it would be better,” said Ramgoolan.  

Early this year, when Modi visited Mauritius, the two countries upgraded their ties to an enhanced strategic partnership. This has seen Mauritius become one of the largest recipients of Indian aid, with deals worth $680 million signed last week. Part of this funding will go into the upgrade of Mauritius’ Port Louis. With the re-routing of global merchant shipping via the Cape of Good Hope, Port Louis has strategic significance on the busy east-west shipping routes. Mauritius is also important to India’s ambition of projecting naval influence in the Indian Ocean.

Meanwhile, the British House of Commons last week voted in favor of a bill supporting handover of Chagos archipelago to Mauritius. A delegation from the UK’s Foreign Office is expected in Mauritius later this month to finalize the handover process. However, Chagos’s largest island, Diego Garcia, remains under the Anglo- American military lease for 99 years.