![]() ![]() Any mention of Mauritius is invariably linked to an obsessive focus on China and its activities in this region, more or less beginning with Hambantota in 2008. ![]() Most foreign policy analyses on Mauritius over the last decade have narrowly focused on escalating global competition and great power rivalry in the Indian Ocean. Much of the momentum underlining India’s move of reaching out to its littoral neighbours such as Mauritius, Seychelles, Maldives and Sri Lanka, has been driven by China’s increasing involvement in this region mainly through large and ambitious infrastructure projects.Īs the power dynamic in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is changing, India has come to view Mauritius as an integral part of the new security architecture that it would like to see emerge here. ![]() India has often been accused of being self-centred in its relations with its smaller neighbours, as well as being interested in them only when China becomes a big enough presence in these countries. ![]() If there are indeed lessons to be learnt and important course-corrections to be undertaken in India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy, it may well pay greater dividend to test-drive this approach in a country like Mauritius where relations are already on an upward swing. However, there are certain common foreign policy challenges that India faces across its immediate neighbourhood and with regards to its smaller neighbours that are worth bearing in mind when dealing with Mauritius. India-Mauritius ties are undoubtedly close, largely conflict free, and driven by its diaspora. Much has been written about the positives in bilateral relations between India and Mauritius – some highlights being CGS Barracuda, India’s first warship export, the high-level diplomatic visits between the two countries, several lines of credit for infrastructure, joint patrol and surveillance operations in the EEZ, Defence and Marine Commando Training, MoUs for hydrographic cooperation and joint development of the blue economy. As Mauritius becomes a key part of India’s renewed Ocean Diplomacy at a time when the world is changing in fundamental ways, what should be India’s approach to this island-nation? India should further use this time and opportunity to revise its vision for its extended neighbourhood, by examining equations with its smaller island neighbours. As the dominant power in South Asia, there is now both a challenge and an opportunity for India to lead the way, as epitomised by the SAARC video conference it initiated. These are indeed unprecedented times that we are living in, with the pandemic Covid-19 engulfing the entire globe in economic loss, near social collapse and overwhelming uncertainty.
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