New Delhi, May 29 (IANS) India’s growing role in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), backed by deeper partnerships with France and Italy, is not aimed at heightening confrontation but at preserving regional stability. Such cooperation underscored the need to secure vital maritime trade routes, strengthen deterrence, and protect the shared strategic interests of the three countries amid the rising geopolitical competition, a report has stated.

“Indian Ocean politics is undergoing a major strategic churn, underpinned by China’s growing footprint, a receding US influence, and the Indian Ocean littoral states’ exposure to conflicts in the neighbouring Middle East, which has clearly demonstrated to the littoral states, including India, why security in the Indian Ocean must move to the forefront of strategic calculations,” a report in Eurasia Review has detailed.

“Amid multiple ongoing conflicts and renewed international attention on the Middle East and Europe, the Indo-Pacific is already witnessing a relative decline in strategic focus. At the same time, questions about the US’s long-term credibility and commitment continue to shape strategic calculations across Asia. In this environment, the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is rapidly emerging as one of the most consequential arenas of geopolitical competition,” it added.

The report noted that India’s longstanding policy of “multi-alignment and issue-based coalitions” has proved advantageous. Rather than depending on rigid alliance structures, it said, New Delhi has built flexible strategic ties with countries sharing mutual concerns over maritime security, regional stability, and freedom of navigation. Among the partners, France has grown into one of India’s most “consequential and reliable strategic partners”.

“This strategic convergence has significantly strengthened India-France cooperation in recent years. President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to India earlier this year further reinforced the growing alignment between New Delhi and Paris on Indo-Pacific security, maritime governance, maritime domain awareness, and defence cooperation. Both countries increasingly recognise that preserving stability in the Indian Ocean requires sustained naval coordination, strategic interoperability, and long-term defence collaboration,” the report mentioned.

Along with France, it said, Italy is becoming an increasingly significant European partner for India in the IOR.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recently concluded visit to Italy has elevated bilateral ties into a strategic partnership, creating new avenues for maritime and defence cooperation.

According to the report, Italy’s growing engagement in the Indo-Pacific is closely linked to concern over “maritime trade security, supply chain resilience, energy connectivity, and the protection of critical sea lanes” connecting Europe and Asia.

“This is particularly significant in the context of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which aims to connect India to Europe via the Middle East and the Mediterranean. As one of the key European stakeholders in IMEC, Italy increasingly recognises that the security of maritime routes in the Arabian Sea and the wider Indian Ocean is directly linked to Europe’s long-term economic and strategic interests,” it highlighted.

The report noted that the partnership between India, France and Italy reflects an evolving framework of pragmatic strategic cooperation aimed at preserving stability while steering clear of fixed bloc rivalries.

–IANS

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