Modi's moti-maala

By the end of this week Prime Minister Modi would have visited Sri Lanka Mauritius and Seychelles notching up some more brownie points in the LoveThyNeighbour including extended neighbourhood trend Within the first year of his tenure the PM would have visited several neighbouring countriesincluding stringing his own motimaala Indiarsquos string of pearls in the Indian OceanIndiarsquos string of pearls is unlike Chinarsquos It is not based on flaunting its military might or coercive diplomacy It is more in the realm of a security embrace of nations in our extended neighbourhood India has largely been a covert security and maritime security provider to Sri Lanka Maldives Mauritius and Seychelles guaranteeing these countries stability during civil or military strife or natural calamities without demanding military economic or political suzeraintyIndian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera greet each other in Colombo ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modirsquos visit to Sri Lanka on March 1314 PicAFPIndiarsquos leadership in this region comes at a time when China is increasing its maritime footprint in the Indian Ocean The Asian super power has an insatiable appetite for strategic dominance in the continent Getting into competitive strategic dominance in the Indian Ocean region with China is avoidable yet inevitable if India has to ensure that its regional dominance is not dilutedPrime Minister Nehru had said ldquoTo be secure on land we must be supreme at seardquo and Indiarsquos taking up the security leadership in the Indian Ocean is a step in that direction After all history has proven that all major powers have been maritime powers Capacity building with partner countries in the Indian Ocean region will be a slow and delicate process Especially with Sri LankaPM Modi will be the first Prime Minister to have visited the southern neighbour in twentyeight years It has been a difficult relationship The Sri Lankan war Indiarsquos intervention via the IPKF Rajiv Gandhirsquos assassination by the LTTE the ethnic Tamil issue fishermen in each otherrsquos waters and Chinarsquos growing involvement in the countryrsquos infra projects And the prospect of political instability that could arise if Sirisena is unable to control his coalition elements Chinarsquos overarching presence in Sri Lanka which was facilitated by former President Rajapakse is not going to be easy to diluteBut on the other hand India is involved in several projects in Sri Lanka like hospitals education training its police force tourism and now even civil nuclear cooperation Somewhat on the same lines as with Maldives Mauritius and Seychelles These countries are part of the IORARC Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation grouping At present there are 19 members Australia Bangladesh India Indonesia Iran Kenya Malaysia Madagascar Mauritius Mozambique Oman Seychelles Singapore South Africa Sri Lanka Tanzania Thailand UAE and Yemen This polyalignment suits Indiarsquos ambition of being an economic and military power in the region Indiarsquos maritime strategic perimeter has by now extended from South China Sea to the African CoastWith Modi at the helm of affairs there is no shying away from articulation of ambitions of Indiarsquos foreign policy Every new administration has to evolve its foreign policy It is dynamic in nature and the idea is to leverage opportunities that are there for the taking The Prime Minister and his cabinet are not going to hesitate to string this garland of pearls in the Indian Ocean There is no ambivalence now in what the countryrsquos goals are in the immediate neighbourhood Whether pursuing goals of blue economy or its predominance of being the only bluewater navy in the region India is projecting itself as the stable secure and dependable democracy that can be trusted as a friend and allyWhile the economy surges ahead and there are ambitious projections that the international finance community makes for India the country also has third world problems Challenges of eradicating poverty integrating the millions who are still not in the ambit of development providing roads and ports food and shelter for its masses are still to be met internal security problems that need to be tackled These difficulties also bring us on the same wavelength as our neighbours such as Sri Lanka Bangladesh Maldives and Nepal who face similar problems There is an affinity that these countries feel with India that they cannot with say China or the US It goes beyond mere cultural affinity And then there is Pakistan That is another storySmita Prakash is Editor News at Asian News International You can follow her on twitter smitaprakash