Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced India’s vision of ‘Security and Growth for All in the Region’ (SAGAR) during the commissioning ceremony of an Indian-built Offshore Patrol Vessel, MCG Barracuda, for the National Coast Guard (NCG) of Mauritius at Port Louis in March 2015. Prime Minister Modi returned to Mauritius this month to mark the 10th anniversary of the pronouncement, where he noted that Mauritius stood at the junction of India’s Vision SAGAR and its commitment to the Global South. While much effort has gone into translating Vision SAGAR into concrete actions over the past decade, much has also changed in the geopolitical environment in the IOR and across the world. This essay examines what has been achieved and proposes some measures to further build upon SAGAR in the decade ahead.
Beginnings with ‘Look East’
It is important to remember that SAGAR was preceded by several maritime policy initiatives in the post-Cold War era, starting with the Look East policy in 1991. The resulting maritime defence and economic partnerships catalysed the formation of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), both in 1997. The Indian Navy’s (IN) growing role as a force for good in the IOR received global recognition in the aftermath of its humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) efforts in the devastating wake of the 2004 tsunami. Building upon its strong foundation of regional maritime cooperation, the IN initiated the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), the first multilateral maritime military construct in the IOR, in 2008, which today brings together 35 navies in the region. Proof of India’s growing engagement and influence in the IOR was evident from then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement in 2013, ‘Our defence cooperation has grown and today we have unprecedented access to high technology, capital and partnerships. We have also sought to assume our responsibility for stability in the Indian Ocean Region. We are well positioned, therefore, to become a net provider of security in our immediate region and beyond’.
