Introduction The Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) is a regional forum in the Southwest Indian Ocean, comprising five nations – Comoros, France (Reunion), Madagascar, Mauritius, and Seychelles. It is the only African organisation that comprises island States. China and the European Union (EU) have been Observers in the IOC since 2016 and 2017, respectively. India acceded […]
The Republic of the Maldives, which is located in the Indian Ocean, is an archipelago comprising approximately 1,200 islands with a geographical spread of over 90,000 sq.km. Incorporating some 26 atolls, the Maldives is one of the world’s most geographically dispersed countries, and is a 99 per cent water-nation.[1] However, with a total land mass […]
This article addresses some of the more prominent environmental challenges faced by the Maldives, which exemplifies those faced by low-lying island-states due to rising sea-levels as a consequence of climate-change, irrespective of whether such change is attributed to anthropogenic factors or geophysical ones. It touches upon the impact that this has on India’s own maritime security. […]
Introduction On 12 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak was a pandemic[1]. Two significant concerns were — and remain — first, the speed and scale of transmission, and second, the evidence-based belief that some countries were not handling the threat with the desired level of political commitment.[2] With reports […]