Importance of the India-Maldives Relations in the IOR

As India and its Southern neighbour, Maldives, upgraded their strategic partnership by concluding six pacts and slew of documents across sectors including defence and cyber security to maintain stability in the Indian Ocean Region, India is taking assured stances to further its Act East policy.
The Maldives archipelago comprising 1,200 coral islands lies next to vital sea lanes which ensure uninterrupted energy supplies to India. With the energy initiatives that India has been taking in the past year has a considerable dependency on the east access to the supply route, for which, the role played by the Maldives archipelago can be key. Improving bilateral relations with smaller Indian Ocean littorals will give India leverage via-a-vis its long standing interest to portray herself as the net security provider in the region. Furthermore, this will also help India to counter China, a country whose grand maritime strategy involves a greater role for Beijing in the Indian Ocean Region.
The South China Sea falls within the purview of IOR and Beijing’s aggressive inroads in the South China Sea has brought in foreign powers in the USA in this region. The USA over the past few years have tried to press for the prominent role of India in the South China Sea as well. Now, inclination of these smaller IOR littorals towards India will send a strong message to the South China Sea littorals, that India as a security provider in the region  will have positive consequences against Chinese aggression.
Contributor: Sampurna Goswami, HoD, Department of Political Science, Sukanta College, University of Calcutta