Beyond Warships: India’s Quiet Strategy to Shape Mauritius’ Maritime Future

One way in which India's navy shows increasing emphasis on training is in the fact that it has been training 516 naval officers from Mauritius in the past nine years. The emphasis on capacity building is consistent with its operational engagement as shown during INS Trikand's recent port visit to Mauritius. It can be argued that training and regular engagements are the two ways in which India has sought to strengthen its maritime relations with other countries.

For instance, while hulls tend to take center stage when it comes to discussion around maritime power, there is no denying that the extent to which a nation has invested in the training of its maritime personnel to operate in unison is equally important. How many naval personnel have worked together, what operational doctrines do they share, and what coast guards will work alongside other navies without hesitation when something goes amiss at night are some of the questions that determine the effectiveness of a nation's maritime force. For India, this has been the case since years and the efforts are paying off.The port visit of INS Trikand to Port Louis in March has served to reinforce India's ongoing investment in the training of its maritime allies. The visit coincided with the celebrations marking Mauritius' 58th Independence Day, and Indian sailors were part of the National Day parade in Port Louis on March 12 in a gesture that highlighted the strength of the bilateral relationship. However, the more important aspect of the visit is the training sessions conducted for Mauritian National Coast Guard personnel onboard the ship.Training covered harbour and sea watchkeeping, firefighting, and damage control. These are some of the basic skills that any navy needs to have in order to operate effectively. More importantly, such training activities also serve the function of calibration. In joint exercises, navies train each other in how to respond in emergency situations as a result of which they learn how each side operates and how communication should flow in order to make joint activities effective.There has been considerable investment in helping Mauritius to establish its maritime capabilities. From coastal surveillance radars to interceptor boats and Dornier aircraft, India has helped in addressing Mauritius' hardware requirements. Hydrographic surveys carried out with assistance from India have contributed to the mapmaking of Mauritian waters. The Agaléga facilities established in early 2024 have provided Mauritius with a forward operating capability in its northern islands. The joint EEZ surveillance carried out by INS Trikand in conjunction with CGS Valiant after leaving Port Louis on March 13 is proof of the capabilities gained through such infrastructure.While there may be many factors that make up India-Mauritius relationship, the number of Mauritian National Coast Guard officers trained by India over nine years forms the heart of it all. Five hundred and sixteen Mauritius naval officers have undergone training over a period of nine years, not just because training was a priority but because it was part of a well-thought-out plan to develop a professional maritime network in Mauritius over the years. These officers have undergone training in Indian ships and institutions, and know how the Indian navy works. They can't acquire this knowledge in exchange for weapons.It is in times of crisis that the value of such training emerges clearly. The response provided by India to the cyclone that hit Mauritius in December 2024 highlights how years of investment in training and operations paid off when it came to a quick and effective response to an unfolding crisis. Such promptness could only result from prior investment in relationships.The engagement between India and Mauritius has been articulated under the umbrella of MAHASAGAR, which stands for Maritime Security and Growth for All in the Region. Under this vision, the Indian Ocean is presented as a region requiring collective stewardship rather than a platform for competing. While the term 'multilateral' is used to describe this initiative, relationships developed within it have been bilateral, one training exercise and one port call at a time.The 2.3 million square kilometre EEZ Mauritius needs to patrol, the ten percent contribution made by the blue economy to the country's GDP, and the 10,000 jobs dependent upon secure waters all contribute towards the importance of India's engagement in the region. Mauritius needs support in maintaining these assets in the right condition and the question is not of whether or not it requires it but whose help and whose doctrines it trusts.