The Colombo Security Conclave as a much-needed security dimension

In Kochi, in 2022
| Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT/THE HINDU

The Colombo Security Conclave (CSC) reached a milestone on August 30, 2024 with India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Mauritius signing a Charter and a memorandum of understanding, for the establishment of the CSC secretariat. Though Bangladesh, a newly inducted member to the grouping, was absent, no conclusive explanation has surfaced. The Seychelles participated as an observer state.

Bay of Bengal as strategic theatre

This achievement, for the CSC, marks significant progress in a shared synergy and the commitment of the grouping since its inception. The shared geography between the member-states encompasses the Bay of Bengal and the western Indian Ocean. For India, the Bay of Bengal remains an important strategic theatre, and the CSC provides an opportunity to add a much-needed security dimension to its outlook towards the region.

In the evolving context of global geopolitics, regional forums have emerged as important instruments of expanding influence and shaping broader architectures of regional security. Importantly, such forums also serve as frameworks for the construction of a regional outlook towards issues of common concern. For India, coalescing robust institutional frameworks for boosting synergy and cooperation on issues of security has remained a critical challenge.

In the Bay of Bengal region, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) has remained an important forum for developing synergy and cooperation. But the ambit of cooperation within the grouping has largely remained in the realm of economic cooperation and connectivity, with a marginal emphasis on security. This has made it imperative for India to cultivate a forum for regional cooperation with a security-oriented agenda in the Bay of Bengal.

In this context, the steady progress made by the CSC appears to provide an opportunity to India, and other member-states to enhance cooperation on issues of maritime security in the Bay of Bengal region. With key pillars of cooperation, that include maritime safety and security; countering terrorism and radicalisation; combating trafficking and transnational organised crime; cyber security and protection of critical infrastructure and technology; and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, there is scope for cooperation under the CSC which suits the maritime security challenges prevalent in the Bay of Bengal region.

China’s actions

Why is a security-oriented approach in the Bay of Bengal essential for India? China’s growing naval footprint and expanding political influence in the Indian Ocean have caused alarm in India’s strategic circles. Beijing continues to exhibit key interest in the Indian Ocean for the fulfilment of its energy security demands and expanding trade networks. China’s aggressive actions against the Philippines in the South China Sea have already demonstrated its desperation to resort to coercive mechanisms to seek control and project power in the Indo-Pacific.

With Chinese warships, research vessels, and submarines entering the Indian Ocean, it is evident that Beijing seeks to assume an active role and have a notable naval presence in the region. The Bay of Bengal’s geography sits as a bridge between the South China Sea and the wider Indian Ocean. The region is also of significant importance to India with critical maritime interests. Unlike the South China Sea region where China has demonstrated a coercive approach, its strategy in the Indian Ocean has been more nuanced. Here, China has sought to expand its influence by developing partnerships with littoral states in the region, which has, in turn, facilitated its naval presence. Additionally, the Bay of Bengal region remains vulnerable to climate change and natural disaster-induced security threats such as rising sea levels and cyclones as well as trafficking and other such transnational crimes. These have formed the rationale for a security-oriented approach in the Bay of Bengal.

Revised outlook

Though the CSC was stagnant between 2014-20, ever since its revival, the grouping has taken strides in exhibiting a willingness to enhance cooperation, even resulting in the expansion of its membership. Mooted as a trilateral between India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives, the grouping later inducted Bangladesh and Mauritius. Evidently, the Bay of Bengal geography prominently features in the spatial ambit of the grouping. Given the absence of any security-oriented forum for regional cooperation in the Bay of Bengal, and the vital security challenges posed by the evolving strategic dynamics in the region, the progress made by the CSC presents an opportunity to construct a forum sensitive to the urgent security concerns in the region. For India, the CSC appears to be directing a security-oriented outlook towards the Bay of Bengal — a region that is likely to continue posing critical maritime security challenges.

Sayantan Haldar is Research Assistant, Maritime Studies, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi