Franco-Indian Maritime Cooperation: Implications for the Indo-Pacific

Abstract

With the shift of the global power center from Europe to Asia, the Indo-Pacific, regarded as the “maritime underbelly” has become the center of geo-economics and geostrategic contestation. This significance of the Indo-Pacific maritime realm has drawn the attention of several regional and extra-regional powers since the past decade. In this changing geopolitical scenario, maritime security has acquired primacy in Indian foreign policy discourse. To counter the growing Chinese presence in its strategic backyard, New Delhi is increasingly looking for partners to advance the idea of ‘Free, Open, and Inclusive Indo-Pacific’ and also to establish itself as a net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region. France is also skeptical of assertive China as a threat to its regional interests. Since 1998, France is India’s all-weather strategic partner. With their shared Indo-Pacific strategy, there is a greater opportunity for them to cooperate in the Indo-Pacific region. Coupled with this bilateral opportunity, the idea of trilateral or minilateral is also gaining ground. Whatever may be the motivation, if realized such frameworks can have far-reaching ramifications. In this context, the paper seeks to analyze the implications of the Franco-Indian relationship in the Indo-Pacific region.