As part of the ‘EU-India Think Tank Twinning Initiative 2016’, Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations, Mumbai, partnered with Istituto Affari Internazionali (Roma, Italy) on a series of papers, titled “Moving forward the EU-India Security Dialogue: Traditional and Emerging Issues”.
The report was presented at the roundtable on EU-India Security Dialogue held in Mumbai on 7 November 2016. The Gateway House research team led by Vice Admiral Anil Chopra, published a commentary on India-EU maritime cooperation, that analyses the flash points in the Indo-Pacific, India’s maritime perspective, implications of China’s ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ and areas in which India and the EU can forge cooperation. In conclusion, the research team highlights three distinct areas of cooperation:
- Firstly, by coordinating their efforts to address maritime piracy, crime and terrorism. This would call for greater intelligence sharing and developing a common Maritime Domain Awareness picture pertaining to these threats.
- Secondly, by strongly adhering to and supporting the tenets of UNCLOS, and coordinating on all aspects of maritime governance as applicable to the high seas, the EEZ and the SLOCs.
- Lastly, developing maritime infrastructure and the blue economy in the region to prevent any monopolistic outcomes, possibly beginning with the Indian Ocean Commission initiative.
Reports and commentaries are available both in IAI and GatewayHouse websites.
To read the paper “Maritime Security and Freedom of Navigation from the South China Sea and Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean: Potential and Limits of EU-India Cooperation”, click here.
To read the commentary of Gateway House click here.