ABSTRACT
Chapter 9 is about the Indian naval role in Africa, which is qualitatively different from its involvement in other regions like the Gulf and South-East Asia. The continued presence of European militaries in some conflict zones of the continent and some islands still under European rule (French and British) injected a common sense of insecurity in post-colonial Africa. South African apartheid regime and its hegemony over neighbouring southern African countries nourished regional fear psyche. Against this background, when the India-sponsored collective maritime initiatives like IORA (originally IOR-ARC) and the IONS were launched, African nations joined them readily. India’s maritime doctrines include the entire western flank of the IO as the country’s primary area of maritime interest, ranging southwards from the Bab-el-Mandeb, East coast of Africa, choke points of Mozambique Channel, Cape of Good Hope, including IOR island nations. Vast maritime domain of responsibility, indeed, demand a large naval role. Piracy, the rising phenomenon of maritime violence on the eastern and western quadrants of the IO, provided stronger rationale for the IN to play active role in this region. China’s growing inroads into the continent spurred Delhi further to reinvigorate its politico-economic diplomacy along with naval diplomacy. The chapter on Africa analyses the bilateral and multilateral Indian naval roles in the region, search for naval facilities and bases therein.
