INDIAN
OCEAN CONFERENCE - INTERNATIONAL
News:
U.S.-China tussle,
warships in Indian Ocean dominate India-sponsored IOC conference in Perth, as Jaishankar
takes aim at China
What's
in the news?
●
The militarisation
of the Indian Ocean and “great power rivalry” are growing concerns for smaller
countries in the region, said Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe,
inaugurating the Indian Ocean Conference in Perth, as the forum focused on
regional cooperation for Indian Ocean Rim and littoral states got under way.
Key
takeaways:
●
As External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar
spoke of challenges to international
rule of law from the Red Sea to the Indo-Pacific, taking aim specifically
at China, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said it was necessary to find
ways to reduce conflict in the region.
Indian
Ocean Conference:
●
The Indian Ocean Conference is a flagship consultative forum for
countries in the Indian Ocean Region.
Conducted
by:
●
It is organized
annually by the Ministry of External Affairs, in association with the India
Foundation.
Objective:
●
To bring together countries and principal
maritime partners of the region together on a common platform to deliberate
upon the prospects of regional cooperation for Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR).
7th
Edition of the Indian Ocean Conference:
●
The 7th edition of the Indian Ocean
Conference was held in Perth, Australia
in association with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Government of
Australia, along with S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore
and Perth-US Asia Centre in Australia.
Theme - "Towards a
Stable and Sustainable Indian Ocean”.
Participated
Countries:
●
The 7th Indian Ocean Conference will also
bring together delegations led by Ministers from over 22 countries and senior officials from 16 countries and 6 multilateral organizations.
●
The Conference will also witness the
participation of over 400 social and corporate leaders, policy practitioners,
scholars, professionals, and media personnel from about 40 countries.
Key
Outcomes of Indian Ocean Conference 2024:
1.
Strategic Upgradation:
●
The IOC has now been upgraded to a ‘track
1’ diplomacy from a ‘track 1.5’.
2.
Proposed Inclusion:
●
Over 60 percent of global container
traffic and 70 percent of energy trade pass through the Indian Ocean region,
therefore there is a need for the inclusion of economic angle in the future
conferences by bringing business leaders and economists together.
3.
Collective Self-alliance:
●
To keep open the channels of consultations
and to jointly address concerns and to build reliable and resilient supply
chains spread across a larger area.
4.
Developing Lateral Land-based Connectivity:
●
There is a need to supplement and
complement the maritime flows across the Indian Ocean Region by developing land
based connectivity.
●
Projects like the India-Middle East-Europe
Economic Corridor and the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway can
together be instrumental in connecting the Pacific to the Atlantic.
5.
Restore Seamlessness:
●
A collaborative effort to develop a robust
regional architecture example - on the lines of ASEAN and staying connected in
inter-penetrative ways can ensure the goal of seamlessness in the Indian Ocean
region.
Key
Highlights of the Conference:
●
At one extremity, there are threats to maritime traffic, piracy and
terrorism.
●
At the other, there are challenges to
international law, concerns about
freedom of navigation and overflights, and of safeguarding sovereignty and
of independence.
●
In between, a range of trans-national and non-traditional threats present
themselves, largely visible in a spectrum of interconnected illegal activities.
Go
back to basics:
Indian
Ocean Region (IOR):
●
IOR is a geographical region that encompasses the Indian Ocean and its
surrounding areas, including the littoral states and islands.
●
The region spans from:
○
African coast in the west to the
Australian coast in the east
○
Arabian Peninsula and the Persian Gulf in
the north to the southern coast of Sri Lanka and Australia in the south.
●
The Indian Ocean is the world's third-largest ocean, covering
an area of approximately 70.6 million square kilometres.
●
It is home to several important sea lanes
of communication, including the Strait
of Malacca, the Suez Canal, and the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, which connect
Asia, Europe, and Africa.