Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Seychelles on June 27-29 was timely. It occurred on the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence and also the 50th year of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries. Seychelles which is a small island country but with a vast area in the Indian Ocean as part of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ)  is significant for India’s maritime security. Other island countries in the Indian Ocean such as Mauritius and Madagascar and, nearer to Indian shores,  Maldives are also important in this respect. 

As India’s economy progresses and its power increases it will have to project benign power in the Indian Ocean and will have to compete with other powers, especially China, which is determined to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific region which includes the Indian Ocean area.  The Chinese economy is five times larger, as of now, than that of India; that gives the country far larger resources which it can deploy to pursue its economic and security interests including in the Indian Ocean region. Hence, India will have to pursue imaginative policies and programmes to influence the people of the Indian Ocean island countries. Their object has to be that India is and will continue to be a reliable partner and not a country that seeks to impose its will in the choices  of these states and is only out to exploit their........

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