THIRD INDIA-EU MARITIME-SECURITY WORKSHOP
Theme- “MARITIME-SECURITY COOPERATION IN THE INDIAN OCEAN:
PATHWAYS TO REALISING THE EU-INDIA POTENTIAL”
The Indian Ocean is no longer “this neglected ocean” — one that was considered to be of peripheral if not marginal importance, when compared to the Atlantic to its west and the Pacific to its east. Likewise, in the period following the colonial era, the predominance of global centres of power lying both, east and the west of the Indian Ocean was such as to relegate the States of this region to far lower order of priority in the collective minds of European politicians, diplomats, military officials, and mainstream strategic analysts. All this has now changed quite decisively and the pendulum of geopolitics has swung back to Asia and its maritime expanses. Indian officials and experts have, of course, long recognised and espoused the strategic significance of this maritime space. Their European counterparts, however, have only gradually come to acknowledge it. Nevertheless, acknowledge it they have — particularly in respect of India, which is now well-recognised as being the most significant power with whom Europe shares both, values and interests. As a consequence, there is far greater awareness of the need for Europe (as manifested by the EU) and India to cooperate in order to strengthen maritime security and stability in the Indian Ocean while reinforcing an internationally-derived rules-based order that promotes comity and underpins the desired peace and prosperity.
Yet, despite the recognition that maritime security is an increasingly important theme of EU-India dialogues, its operationalisation is still, at best, in its infancy. A Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with European naval forces engaged in Operation Atalanta in 2017, the escort of a World Food Program Vessel in 2018, a port call at Mumbai in 2019, and a limited number of high-level visits, account for the practical manifestations of EU-India cooperation relevant to maritime security.
The discrepancy between the stated intentions and their operationalization, may be a function of the relative novelty of the cooperation. However, given that time is of the essence, this discrepancy might also reflect deeper problem regarding the foundations of the cooperation. For decades, the two entities have operated in separate strategic spheres. Today, they still appear to be uncertain of what they can expect from one another and how far they are willing to go together.
To provide direction, depth, and impetus to the EU-India maritime-security process, and to provide meaningful inputs for subsequent consideration by formal (Track One) government-level forums engaged in this maritime security dialogue, a series of “Track One-point-Five” brainstorming workshops were envisaged. The first and second of these workshops were held in 2019 but COVID-induced restrictions forced a pause in 2020. The process is now being resumed, albeit in an online mode.
Summarised Outcomes of Earlier Maritime-Security Workshops
Two “Track One-point-Five” workshops on EU-India maritime security cooperation were convened in 2019, the first on 07 and 08 February 2019 in New Delhi, and the second on 18-19 September 2019 in Brussels. These workshops brought together officials and experts from India and the EU in order to lay the foundations of a larger and deeper cooperation. They highlighted the growing convergence and the potential for cooperation between the EU and India.
The focus of these first two workshops was primarily on “activities” (maritime domain awareness, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, connectivity, strengthening the existing order, etc) and only secondarily on the articulation of their correlation with actual threats and risks. Whenever the latter was done, it was mostly in generic and consensual terms (traditional and soft security), without addressing specific situations.
This is not to diminish in any way the extremely high value of each of the preceding workshops. They have admirably highlighted the capabilities of the two entities. Based on their outcomes, the third workshop, as also those to follow as part of this ongoing series, will attempt to deepen and strengthen the engagement by identifying concrete circumstances and conditions that would be conducive to meaningful cooperation. Towards this end, they will concentrate upon the following:
- The identification of actual complementarities. This requires a sound analysis of the evolution of the Indian Ocean maritime strategic landscape as well as a willingness to discuss and possibly contribute to address the real strategic concerns of the partner.
- The acknowledgement of the fact that no State or entity ever takes action beyond an acceptable political risk threshold, unless it is compelled to do so.
The range of active maritime-security cooperation between the EU and India will, therefore, have to be defined within the boundaries of these constraints, as also within those of the actual “capacities” (by which is implied naval platforms and other such material wherewithal) that both sides are ready to dedicate to the cooperation. In concrete terms, this implies and implicit and explicit recognition that, at least in the foreseeable future, the maritime-security engagement between the EU and India is unlikely to lead to the mobilisation of substantial naval assets. However, both partners can bring very substantive and substantial “capabilities” to bear. “Capabilities” are distinguished from “capacity” in that the former connote human skilling, experience-sharing, organisational structures, training mechanisms, legal frameworks, and, a common understanding of the maritime space in question — the Indian Ocean in particular and the Indo-Pacific in general. The further implication is that the EU-India cooperation in terms of maritime security can be based only on a concept of “comprehensive” or “holistic” maritime security.
Scope and Nature of the Cooperation
For the EU-India maritime-security cooperation to really take off it is necessary for this and future workshops (or other “Track One-point-Five” convening mechanisms) to squarely addresses the actual concerns of the two partnering entities. Amongst other issues, the workshop(s) will, therefore, discuss openly, although certainly not exclusively, China’s presence in the Indian Ocean and the consequences thereof — something that the EU is aware of, but possibly uncomfortable with, perhaps due to an absence of consensus on the prudence of openly discussing China. In this context, three considerations could help to assuage any concerns on this subject:
- India’s Policy of “Inclusivity” vis-à-vis China in the Indian Ocean. New Delhi has always promoted ‘inclusivity’ — a concept with which the EU should be intuitively comfortable. This has not eliminated the reality of the competition between India and China nor its intensity but it certainly has meant that India-China relations have never allowed to be limited to a zero-sum game. Yet, even where “inclusivity” is accepted as being an intrinsically good ingredient of external engagement (as is the case with the EU and also within it), there are at least two competing perceptions of this inclusivity. In one case, the pursuit of inclusivity simply evades the China problem by neither acknowledging nor addressing it. In the other, one pursues “inclusivity” while accepting that there are differences and even conflicts of interest in respect of China but constraining the divisive fallout of these differences by discussing them intensively but informally. The leveraging of “Track One-point-Five” structures such as these very workshops afford an excellent opportunity for such an approach. The workshop will accordingly explore a common EU-India approach to “inclusivity” that avoids a binary “us-or-them” approach while simultaneously avoiding the creation of security vacuums in the Indian Ocean that might be exploited to generate a China-dominated regional order.
- The Evolution of the Indian Ocean Strategic Landscape. This evolution is characterized as much by a competition for resources as by the growing militarization of the area, and therefore, by the hybrid character of the threats. This expands the nature of the strategic problem from one of protecting maritime routes to one of protecting maritime spaces, and with potential implications on land, too. This calls for a “comprehensive” approach to maritime security in the Indian Ocean as well as for multiple, thematic cooperation, at a variety of levels compatible with the capacities, capabilities, and degree of risk-aversion of individual member-States of the EU.
- The Need for a Prospective Approach. A prospective approach is also the way to avoid the traps of an excessively confrontational narrative. This is also a key for the success of a Track “One-point-Five” engagement process, which is by definition, limited to identifying issues and proposing solutions that are the informed by careful introspection as well as robust external examination and debate. Decisions, of course, can only be taken in formal and official (Track One) meetings.
Thus, the risk is far less an immediate “military” one, than one contextualised to the control of critical infrastructure along the shores of the Indian Ocean. In other words, the risks are of “geoeconomic constriction”, of the “weaponisation” of regional and global supply chains and value chains, and, of market-exclusion. The security of global supplies can no longer be guaranteed by US naval presence that covers some parts of the Indian Ocean but ignores others. On the other side, the expansion of Op Atalanta’s mandate, the proposed expansion of the Coordinated Maritime Presence to the Indian Ocean, the various development and connectivity funds of the EU, as well as other instruments of smaller scale and scope, all allow Europe to play a role commensurate with its capabilities and risk-acceptance.
In sum, the aim of the workshop (and those to follow) is to articulate existing capabilities, and contextualise them to actual risks and threats, in order to better circumscribe the space for actual cooperation and coordination. Towards this end, the workshop(s) will seek to identify and analyse the nature existing and/or emerging security issues that are assessed to have an immediate or a potential structural-impact upon the common interests of the EU and India. On the one hand, not all threats are of a military nature. On the other, not all non-traditional threats are existential or even structural. However, some sub-strategic issues do have actual strategic impacts, especially when subordinated to geo-strategic ambition. The workshop(s) will also examine the possible use of the EU’s and India’s “tool boxes” in order to protect these interests. The “EU strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific” (and the equivalent Indian set of documents), the “EU-India Connectivity Partnership”, the “Enhanced EU Security Cooperation in and with Asia”, etc., constitute an robust framework for maritime-security cooperation between the two entities, while Op Atalanta, Project CRIMARIO-II, the Indian “Trilateral Initiative”, the various EU development-funds, etc., are all useful and actionable instruments to achieve the common objectives of the partnering entities. The workshop(s) will offer policymakers informed-options on how these instruments might best be contextualised, utilised, and operationalised in foreseeable situations and contingencies.
Participation:
The participation to the event is based on invite-only basis.
Programme:
| Day ONE: 01 December 2021 | ||
| INAUGURAL SESSION (Duration: 30 m)
CET: 0900-0930 (IST: 1330-1400) |
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| CET: 0900-0905
IST: 1330-1335 [05 min] |
Introduction to the Workshop | Ms Divya Rai,
Programme Executive, National Maritime Foundation (NMF), New Delhi |
| CET: 0905-0915
IST: 1335-1345 [10 min] |
Inaugural Address (India) | Admiral Sunil Lanba, PVSM, AVSM, IN (Retd)
Chairman, National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi, India |
| CET: 0915-0920
IST: 1345-1350 [05 min] |
Introductory Remarks (EU) | Dr Frédéric Grare
Senior Policy Fellow, Asia Programme European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) |
| CET: 0920-0930
IST: 1350-1400 [10 min] |
Inaugural Address (EU) (Video-Recording) | His Excellency, Mr Ugo Astuto
Ambassador of the EU to India and Bhutan Delegation of the European Union to India |
| PROFESSIONAL SESSION ONE (Duration: 90 min)
CET: 0930-1100 (IST: 1400-1530) China’s Presence and Role in the Indian Ocean: Comparing Assessments & Approaches |
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| CET: 0930-0935
IST: 1400-1405 [05 min] |
Introduction to the Session | Captain Sarabjeet S Parmar, IN
Executive Director, National Maritime Foundation (NMF), New Delhi |
| CET: 0935-0950
IST: 1405-1420 (15 min) |
Address by Moderator | Lieutenant General SL Narasimhan,
PVSM, AVSM & Bar, VSM (Retd), Director General, Centre for Contemporary China Studies (CCCS), Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India |
| CET: 0950-1005
IST: 1420-1435 (15 min) |
Address by EU Representative | Dr Christian Schultheiss
Visiting Scholar, Centre for Geopolitics, University of Cambridge |
| CET: 1005-1020
IST: 1435-14550 (15 min) |
Address by Indian Representative | Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan,
AVSM & Bar, VSM, IN (Retd) Director-General, National Maritime Foundation (NMF), New Delhi |
| CET: 1020-1035
IST: 1450-1505 (15 min) |
Expert Address | Dr Emmanuel Puig,
Associate Professor, Chinese & East Asian Studies, Sciences Po Paris |
| CET: 1035-1100
IST: 1505-1530 (25 min) |
Audience Interaction | Moderated by General SL Narasimhan |
| PROFESSIONAL SESSION TWO (Duration: 90 min) CET: 1100-1230 (IST: 1530-1700)
The Mozambique Channel as the Next Major Security Hotspot in the Indian Ocean
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| CET: 1100-1105
IST: 1530-1535 (05 min) |
Introduction to the Session | Dr Frédéric Grare
Senior Policy Fellow Asia Programme European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) |
| CET: 1105-1120
IST: 1535-1550 (15 min) |
Address by Moderator | Dr Anupam Ray,
Joint Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs (Policy Planning & Research Division), Government of India, New Delhi |
| CET: 1120-1135
IST: 1550-1605 (15 min) |
Address by Indian Representative | Ms Ruchita Beri,
Senior Research Associate, Manohar Parrikar Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), New Delhi |
| CET: 1135-1150
IST: 1605-1620 (15 min) |
Address by EU Representative | Commander Franz Hertzog,
Strategic Analysis Division, European Union Military Staff (EUMS), EEAS |
| CET: 1150-1205
IST: 1620-1635 (15 min) |
Expert Address (India) | Captain Sarabjeet S Parmar, IN
Executive Director, National Maritime Foundation (NMF), New Delhi |
| CET: 1205-1230
IST: 1635-1700 |
Audience Interaction | Moderated by Dr Anupam Ray |
| PROFESSIONAL SESSION THREE (Duration: 90 min)
CET: 1230-1400 (IST: 1700-1830) Fisheries Management as a Geostrategic Issue in the Indian Ocean |
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| CET: 1230-1235
IST: 1700-1705 (05 min) |
Introduction to the Session | Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan,
AVSM & Bar, VSM, IN (Retd) Director-General, National Maritime Foundation (NMF), New Delhi |
| CET: 1235-1250
IST: 1705-1720 (15 min) |
Address by Moderator | Dr R Jeyabaskaran,
Director-General, Fishery Survey of India (FSI), Government of India |
| CET: 1250-1305
IST: 1720-1735 (15 min) |
Address by EU Representative | Isabelle Perret,
Representative of the General Secretariat for the Sea (Paris); Former expert, Directorate General for the Sea (DG MARE), European Commission |
| CET: 1305-1320
IST: 1735-1750 (15 min) |
Address by Indian Representative | Dr Sanjay Pandey,
Assistant Commissioner, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying Government of India |
| CET: 1320-1335
IST: 1750-1805 (15 min) |
Expert Address | Dr Frédéric Grare
Senior Policy Fellow, Asia Programme European Council on Foreign Relations, Paris |
| CET: 1335-1400
IST: 1805-1830 |
Audience Interaction | Moderated by Dr J Bhaskaran |
| DAY TWO: 02 December 2021 | ||
| PROFESSIONAL SESSION FOUR (Duration: 90 min)
CET: 0900-1030 (IST: 1330-1500) Building Resilience and Connectivity in the Small Island States of the Indian Ocean: A Test Case for the ‘EU-India Connectivity Partnership’ |
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| CET: 0900-0905
IST: 1330-1335 (05 min) |
Introduction to the Session | Dr Frédéric Grare
Senior Policy Fellow Asia Programme European Council on Foreign Relations Paris |
| CET: 0905-0920
IST: 1335-1350 (15 min) |
Address by Moderator (EU) | Dr (Ms) Janka Oertel,
Director, Asia Programme, and, Senior Policy Fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) |
| CET: 0920-0935
IST: 1350-1405 (15 min) |
Address by Indian Representative | Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan,
AVSM & Bar, VSM, IN (Retd) Director-General, National Maritime Foundation (NMF), New Delhi |
| CET: 0935-0950
IST: 1405-1420 (15 min) |
Address by EU Representative | Andrew Small,
Senior Transatlantic Fellow, Asia Program German Marshall Fund (GMF); and Associate Senior Policy Fellow, Asia Programme European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) |
| CET: 0950-1005
IST: 1420-1435 (15 min) |
Expert Address | Vice Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh, AVSM, NM, IN
Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff [DCIDS] (Operations) Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff New Delhi |
| CET: 1005-1030
IST: 1435-1500 |
Audience Interaction | Moderated by Dr (Ms) Janka Oertel |
| PROFESSIONAL SESSION FIVE (Duration: 90 min)
CET: 1030-1200 (IST: 1500-1630) Indian Ocean Governance and Maritime Security: Addressing the Gaps in Maritime Enforcement |
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| CET: 1030-1035
IST: 1500-1505 (05 min) |
Introduction to the Session | Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan,
AVSM & Bar, VSM, IN (Retd) Director-General, National Maritime Foundation (NMF), New Delhi |
| CET: 1035-1050
IST: 1505-1520 (15 min) |
Address by Moderator | Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar,
PVSM, AVSM, VSM, IN (Retd) Former Vice Chief of the Naval Staff, New Delhi |
| CET: 1050-1105
IST: 1520-1535 (15 min) |
Address by EU Representative | Mr Giovanni Cremonini,
Head of Maritime Security Sector, European External Action Service (EEAS),Brussels |
| CET: 1105-1120
IST: 1535-1550 (15 min) |
Address by Indian Representative | Captain Himadri Das, IN,
Senior Fellow, National Maritime Foundation (NMF), New Delhi |
| CET: 1120-1135
IST: 1550-1605 (15 min) |
Expert Address | Cdr (Ms) Marianne Peron-Doise, FN (Retd) Researcher on North Asia and International Maritime Security, Institut de Recherche Stratégique de l’Ecole Militaire (IRSEM) |
| CET: 1135-1200
IST: 1605-1630 |
Audience Interaction | Moderated by Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar
|
| CLOSING SESSION (Duration: 45 m)CET: 1200-1245 (IST: 1630-1715) | ||
| CET: 1200-1220
IST: 1630-1650 [20 min] |
Closing Remarks | Dr (Ms) Janka Oertel,
Director, Asia Programme, and, Senior Policy Fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) |
| CET: 1220-1240
IST: 1650-1710 [20 min] |
Closing Remarks | Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan,
AVSM & Bar, VSM, IN (Retd) Director-General, National Maritime Foundation (NMF), New Delhi |
| CET: 1240-1245
IST: 1710-1715 [05 min] |
Vote of Thanks | Ms Divya Rai,
Programme Executive, National Maritime Foundation (NMF), New Delhi |
