Indian Council of World Affairs

During his recent visit to Mauritius in March 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the MAHASAGAR Vision (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth across Regions) for the Global South. It is an elevation of India’s Security and Growth for all in the Region (SAGAR) vision, as the PM said in his speech, “our vision for the Global South will be, beyond SAGAR (it will be) MAHASAGAR”.[1] Another important concurrent development was the launch of the first-ever large-scale multilateral maritime engagement exercise between India and African countries, on 13 April 2025, titled as ‘Africa India Key Maritime Engagement’also known as ‘AIKEYME’.[2] Also significant is the simultaneous deployment of Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) ‘Sagar’ to friendly countries in the western Indian Ocean. With these begins the operationalisation of the MAHASAGAR vision. These are important developments that once again reflect India’s willingness to engage closely with regional countries in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). 

The increasing salience of the Indo-Pacific has brought to the fore, the centrality of the Indian Ocean more than ever before. This is also accompanied by rapid geopolitical shifts taking place in the region. There has been an increasing deployment of foreign ships in the IOR in recent years, especially from China and also more frequently US/ EU naval forces are seen in the Indo-Pacific. China is looking beyond the second island chain, into the Indian Ocean and has enhanced its presence. The PLA navy ships have been undertaking intelligence-gathering activity in the area. The focus area of the competition in the Indian Ocean is the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, which overlooks critical choke-points like the Malacca Strait. More recently, the western part of the Indian Ocean is witnessing rising tensions. The region is experiencing spillover of conflict in West Asia, disruption of shipping due to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, and the western Indian Ocean region has also witnessed an increase in incidents of piracy. These are re-defining the security situation in the region.  

For India, the IOR finds an important place in Indian foreign policy priorities. Maritime security is an important aspect of India’s engagements with the Indian Ocean littoral states and through various formal and informal structures in place. India is focusing on closer defence and security cooperation with littorals across the region. Simultaneously, there have also been significant advancements in the Indian Navy’s deterrence and power projection capabilities far beyond the shores. 

The ‘MAHASAGAR’ Vision 

India’s initiatives like the SAGAR, now the MAHASAGAR, and the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) with its seven pillars, encapsulate India’s vision to build a safe, secure and stable maritime domain in collaboration with like-minded countries, in a mutually supportive and cooperative manner. 

MAHASAGAR is an elevation of the SAGAR vision, which was also announced by the PM Modi, in Mauritius, in 2015 and has completed ten years. The choice of Mauritius, once again, for making an important policy announcement is important, as PM Modi said in his speech “Mauritius is our close maritime neighbour and a key partner in the IOR. Mauritius is also a bridge connecting India to the wider Global South”. [3] During the PM’s recent visits, the relationship between the two countries was elevated to ‘enhanced strategic partnership’. Under this, the two countries have agreed to further augment maritime cooperation for an open, secure and free IOR. Mauritius also has an important place in India’s ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’.[4] India is an important development partner for most of the island states in the IOR including Mauritius, with a transparent, need-based approach for an inclusive relationship. India is also building logistics support facilities at the remote Agalega Island in Mauritius as part of the agreement signed between the two countries in 2015. In the spirit of SAGAR, in February 2024, PM Narendra Modi and then PM of Mauritius, Mr Pravind Jugnauth, jointly inaugurated the new airstrip and St. James Jetty at the Agalega Island, along with six other community development projects. This will enable better connectivity between mainland Mauritius and strategically located Agalega Island.  

SAGAR encourages states to cooperate and synergise efforts towards a safe, secure and stable maritime domain, as well as to take meaningful steps for the conservation and sustainable use of the maritime domain. It focuses on cooperation in the areas of trade, tourism, infrastructure, environment, blue economy and security. The MAHASAGAR vision takes forward the SAGAR, and emphasises on “trade for development, capacity building for sustainable growth, and mutual security for a shared future”. Under this, cooperation will be “ensured through technology sharing, concessional loans and grants," said PM Modi.[5] While still at a nascent stage, it is clear that MAHASAGR is an elevation of the SAGAR vision, it is much broader in scope and geographical spread, and reiterates India’s commitment to mutual growth, collective security and sustainable future for the larger Global South. 

AIKEYME 2025

Another important development which came soon after the announcement of the MAHASAGAR vision, was the launch of first of its kind large-scale multilateral maritime engagement exercise with African countries, the  ‘AIKEYME’, which also translates to mean ‘Unity’ in Sanskrit.[6] AIKEYEME is in harmony with the MAHASAGAR vision as it focuses on enhancing maritime interoperability and deepening regional partnerships with the African littorals of the Indian Ocean. AIKEYME 2025 was held from 13 to 18 April 2025 in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. It was co-hosted by the Indian Navy and the Tanzania Peoples’ Defence Force (TPDF), with an aim to enhance interoperability, synergies combined operations and develop collaborative solutions to maritime challenges in the region. The six-day exercise witnessed participation from Comoros, Djibouti, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles and South Africa, alongwith the co-hosts India and Tanzania.[7] India plans to make it a regular biennial exercise, with possibilities of including more countries in future iterations. 

Piracy and more recently Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea affecting the maritime traffic through the Gulf of Aden region have been major challenges in the region. India has played an important role in combating piracy in the region through joint anti-piracy operations and participating in multilateral initiatives like the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia’ (CGPCS), and also in Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP), for exchanging information and coordinating efforts in dealing with piracy in the IOR. 

India engages with African Indian Ocean littorals at other platforms as well; some of them are part of the Milan exercise and the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), led by the Indian Navy. The latest Milan exercise was held in February 2024, where many African countries of the Indian Ocean participated. The launch of the AIKEYME further highlights the strong and friendly relations between India and the African nations. This is also important as the Western Indian Ocean region has been witnessing geopolitical shifts and competition. 

IOS Sagar 

Alongside the AIKEYME, another important initiative focusing on India’s nuanced ‘neighborhood first policy’ is the deployment of INS Sunayna as IOS Sagar, to nine countries in the Southwest IOR.[8]  Vice Admiral Tarun Sobti, Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff, emphasising the strategic importance of the initiative said that “AIKEYME and IOS Sagar-both first-of-their-kind initiatives” are aimed at consolidating India’s stature as the ‘preferred security partner’ and ‘first responder’ in the IOR.[9]

The IOS Sagar has been deployed to be sailing and making port calls to nine friendly nations of the IOR, as a reflection of India’s commitment to regional maritime cooperation for peace, prosperity and collective security in the region.[10] Speaking on the occasion of flagging off the ship on 5 April 2025, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that “our Navy ensures that, in IOR, no nation suppresses another on the basis of overwhelming economy and military power. We ensure that the nations’ interests are protected without compromising their sovereignty”.[11] With 44 personnel, on board the ship will be sailing for six weeks in the Indian Ocean. It has already visited Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Mauritius and now will be moving on to visiting the rest including Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, the Maldives and Seychelles. The IOS Sagar, reaffirms India’s “commitment to building stronger ties with its maritime neighbours, strengthening joint regional surveillance capacities, enhancing mutual trust and re-enforcing partnerships under MAHASAGR vision”.[12]

These are significant developments that are aligned with India’s vision to build a safe, secure and stable maritime environment in collaboration with like-minded countries, in a mutually supportive and cooperative manner under the overall MAHASAGAR vision. Through the initiatives, India promotes its image of a reliable partner in the IOR in dealing with common challenges. The Indian Navy as an instrument of foreign policy is doing a lot in terms of preparedness with various bilateral and multilateral exercises with regional navies, also regularly hosting the IONS, coordinating patrols, sharing information, anti-piracy and HADR operations with regional partners for enhancing joint capabilities. The Indian Navy, with its ‘blue water’ capacities, enhanced ‘sea based nuclear deterrence’, and ‘second strike capacity’,[13] is the largest naval force present in the Indian Ocean. On 27 April 2025 Indian Navy ships “undertook successful multiple anti-ship firings to revalidate and further demonstrate readiness for long-range precision offensive strike”, in the Arabian Sea.[14] Recent naval advancements complement India’s vision and responsibility as a major regional power with maritime security interests, the scope of which have broadened.

Conclusion

The IOR is becoming an increasingly contested space, with an enhanced presence of the regional and increasing presence of global powers. It is an arena where geopolitics is shaped by traditional as well as non-traditional security challenges. An aggressive China, expanding its presence and clout in the IOR is causing shifts in the regional balances. The IOR has experienced many conflict situations in the past and currently the region is also experiencing spillover effects of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, rivalries in the Indo-Pacific and West Asia, which are affecting the supply chains and resulting in volatile situations in the region. Maritime piracy and terrorism have seen resurgence in the Indian Ocean. These are all making the regional situation very unpredictable.

As a resident nation, India is a major stakeholder in the Indian Ocean and the larger Indo-Pacific region. India has capabilities and responsibilities, to work towards building a secure, stable and cohesive IOR. SAGAR is a regional approach for the IOR, MAHASAGAR is an approach that spreads “across regions”- thus expanding the horizons of India’s maritime vision. The announcement of the MAHASAGAR vision is a welcome step. It is an all-encompassing vision, which also weaves in India’s approach to Global South and will enable India to foster closer partnerships and practical cooperation, for mutual and holistic security and growth in the maritime domain in the IOR. 

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*Dr. Pragya Pandey, Research Fellow, Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi.
Disclaimer: The views expressed are personal.

Endnotes

[1] English Translation of Prime Minister's address to the Indian Community in Mauritius, March 11, 2025, https://www.mea.gov.in/Speeches-Statements.htm?dtl/39151/English_Translation_of_Prime_Ministers_address_to_the_Indian_Community_in_Mauritius

[2] Indian Navy's Maiden Initiatives of Indian Ocean Ship SAGAR (IOS SAGAR) and Africa India Key Maritime Engagement (AIKEYME), 24 MAR 2025, https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2114491

[3] I.bid. no 1

[4] Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Mauritian Prime Minister jointly inaugurate new Airstrip and a Jetty at Agalega Island in Mauritius, February 29, 2024, https://www.mea.gov.in/press-releases.htm?dtl/37667/Prime+Minister+Shri+Narendra+Modi+and+Mauritian+Prime+Minister+jointly+inaugurate+new+Airstrip+and+a+Jetty+at+Agalega+Island+in+Mauritius

[5] PM announces Mahasagar vision with Mauritius for maritime security, trade, 13 March 2025, https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/prime-minister-narendra-modi-mahasagar-vision-mauritius-maritime-security-trade-navinchandra-ramgoolam-2692904-2025-03-13

[6] Ibid. no. 2

[7] Inaugural India, Africa maritime engagement exercise begins in Tanzania, 13 April 2025, https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/inaugural-india-africa-maritime-engagement-exercise-begins-in-tanzania/article69446598.ece

[8] India Navy announces maiden India-African exercise, Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) Sagar, 24 March 2025,https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-navy-announces-maiden-india-african-exercise-indian-ocean-ship-ios-sagar/article69369880.ece

[9] Strengthening ties, expanding defence exports, and countering China: Why AIKEYME 2025 is more than just a naval drill, 26 March 2025, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/strengthening-ties-expanding-defence-exports-and-countering-china-why-aikeyme-2025-is-more-than-just-a-naval-drill/articleshow/119536988.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

[10] Twitter, https://x.com/rajnathsingh/status/1908485797797384518

[11] Raksha Mantri flags-off INS Sunayna as Indian Ocean Ship SAGAR from Karwar with 44 personnel of nine friendly nations of Indian Ocean Region, April 05, 2025, https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2119246

[12] Indian Navy, Twitter, https://x.com/indiannavy/status/1915238669784383912

[13] India to get its 2nd nuclear submarine, 29 August 2024,

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-to-get-its-2nd-nuclear-submarine-101724870836535.html#:~:text=India%20will%20now%20have%20two,%2Dfirst%2Duse%20policy).

[14] Indian Navy, Twitter, https://x.com/indiannavy/status/1916347554197066061