From China to Assumption Island: The hurdles before India-Seychelles ties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent state visit to Seychelles on 27-29 June 2026 as the Guest of Honour for its 50th Independence Day celebrations spotlighted that nation’s critical role in India’s Indo-Pacific strategy. Located in the western Indian Ocean, Seychelles is an archipelagic country consisting of 115 islands. Seychelles is the smallest country in Africa as well as the least populated sovereign African country, with an estimated population of 123,000. However, Seychelles oversees a massive Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of roughly 1.3 million square kilometres. Though geographically small, its proximity to critical Sea Lanes of Communication (SLOCs) — which facilitate global trade and energy transit between Africa, the Gulf and Asia — makes it a cornerstone of regional maritime security.

Geostrategic importance of Seychelles

Seychelles holds immense geostrategic value. India and Seychelles have shared a deep defence partnership since the island nation’s independence in 1976. The core of their military cooperation centres on joint maritime security, anti-piracy operations, and countering regional threats. For India, a close partnership with Seychelles is a cornerstone of the SAGAR and MAHASAGAR visions, aimed at establishing India as the primary net security provider in the region.

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SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region) is India’s foundational maritime vision for the Indian Ocean, introduced in 2015 to promote regional peace, stability and prosperity. MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions) is its global evolution. Together, they frame India as a primary security provider and collaborative partner in the Global South. The two countries routinely conduct joint military exercises such as Exercise LAMITYE and collaborate through a chain of coastal radar stations that feed critical intelligence to the Indian Navy.

Colombo Security Conclave (CSC)

Seychelles officially joined the Colombo Security Conclave (CSC) as its sixth full member in November 2025, a major milestone that dramatically strengthens western Indian Ocean maritime surveillance and security. The island nation’s integration expands the bloc’s strategic geographic coverage across crucial global shipping lanes and critical maritime routes. Seychelles’ entry deepens the security architecture connecting India, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Mauritius and Sri Lanka. Seychelles’ formal accession brings operational synergy and shared commitments to the bloc. This strategic integration significantly expands the geographic reach of the Colombo Security Conclave into the western Indian Ocean. It also builds on long-standing bilateral maritime ties, such as the Coastal Surveillance Radar Station network built in collaboration with India.

Discussions during PM’s visit

During PM Modi’s visit, discussions emphasised joint surveillance, anti-piracy operations and regional maritime domain awareness. PM Modi officially handed over the fast patrol vessel PS Lespwar, along with six ambulances, ten utility vehicles and five laser radial boats to bolster Seychelles’ coastal security and maritime surveillance, a move directly aimed at enhancing the island nation’s ability to patrol its sprawling Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) against illegal fishing, trafficking and piracy.

India also announced its decision to redeploy four military advisers to Seychelles. It is a strategic manoeuvre designed to cement New Delhi’s position as the primary net security provider in the western Indian Ocean. The move is aimed at deepening interoperability and maritime domain awareness and represents a calculated strategic reset aimed at countering China’s expanding footprint in the western Indian Ocean. While this was an important diplomatic step, it also underscored lingering geopolitical challenges in the region.

Assumption Island

However, attempting to translate India’s MAHASAGAR vision into the infrastructure of Seychelles has often proved very difficult. The most significant barrier to bilateral strategic cooperation has been the decade-long gridlock over the joint military facility on Assumption Island. It may be recalled that during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2015 visit, India and Seychelles signed a landmark US$550 million agreement to jointly develop a military and naval facility on Assumption Island, a sparsely populated, strategically vital 7-kilometre island located about 1,100 kilometres south-west of Mahé. The project, entirely funded by India, was intended to feature an airstrip and a naval jetty to enhance maritime domain awareness and counter rising security threats in the western Indian Ocean. The 20-year bilateral agreement aimed to give India a strategic foothold in the western Indian Ocean.

Setting up a joint military and naval facility on Assumption Island has proved a major geopolitical and domestic challenge for India due to intense political opposition, sovereignty anxieties and environmental hurdles within Seychelles. Although Seychelles would have retained full ownership of the island, the 30-year lease agreement and the potential stationing of Indian military personnel sparked significant political division and public protests in Seychelles. Activists feared the facility would entangle the island nation in regional geopolitical power struggles. While the two nations revised the pact in 2018 to emphasise joint ownership and Coast Guard operations, internal political friction caused the project to stall indefinitely. Opponents argued that the joint facility would compromise national sovereignty, amount to the “surrender” of territory, and draw the small island nation into a broader regional conflict between India and China.

Despite continuous high-level diplomatic dialogue and state visits, the project has been stymied by domestic friction in Seychelles. Environmentalists, local activists and opposition parties voiced strong concerns over ceding territorial sovereignty and risking the ecological integrity of the nearby UNESCO World Heritage Site on Aldabra. Because of these deep-seated public fears of becoming an arena for Sino-Indian proxy rivalries, both governments have had to walk a tightrope continuously, officially shelving or de-emphasising the military base component to respect local sensitivities.

Recently, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri stated that while the proposed Assumption Island project did not formally come up for discussion during the Prime Minister’s 2026 visit to Seychelles, India remains fully open to reviving it if requested. He emphasised that any defence or development cooperation must respect the host government’s priorities and align with the wishes of its people.

Sino-Indian Strategic Competition

The shadow of non-regional powers, particularly China, looms large over India-Seychelles ties. China’s expanding Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its growing economic and maritime presence across the Indo-Pacific have complicated the balancing strategies of smaller island states. The “chequebook diplomacy” practised by competing powers, coupled with their investments in local infrastructure, means Seychelles occasionally balances its relationships to maximise national leverage.

While India retains deep historical goodwill and remains a trusted primary defence partner, the presence of competing geopolitical interests limits the extent to which Seychelles can integrate its defence architecture exclusively with New Delhi.

Capacity Constraints and Non-Traditional Security Threats

Beyond geopolitical friction, practical capacity constraints pose a challenge to mutual defence goals. Seychelles has a relatively small administrative and technical workforce, which routinely slows the implementation of Indian-funded infrastructure and capacity-building projects.

Furthermore, Seychelles is continually burdened by non-traditional maritime security threats. The sheer size of the Seychellois EEZ relative to its population makes it incredibly vulnerable to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, piracy and narcotics smuggling. Countering these threats requires significant, continuous and resource-intensive operational coordination.

The Way Forward

Despite these challenges, the bilateral relationship remains highly resilient. India continues to support Seychelles successfully through alternative, demand-driven partnerships rather than heavy-handed strategic acquisitions. Recent bilateral efforts have focused on gifting maritime hardware — such as the fast patrol vessel PS Lespwar — conducting joint military exercises such as Exercise LAMITYE, and integrating Seychelles into regional security frameworks such as the Colombo Security Conclave (CSC).

By emphasising development partnerships and regional stability rather than formal military bases, India and Seychelles are building a sustainable, trust-based strategic alliance in the Indian Ocean. Future bilateral relations will increasingly merge traditional maritime security with socio-economic development. Driven by the MAHASAGAR vision, cooperation will likely expand into climate resilience, sustainable Blue Economy initiatives and the export of Digital Public Infrastructure to cement a robust, long-term strategic partnership.

(The writer is a retired Indian diplomat and had previously served as ambassador in Kuwait and Morocco and as Consul General in New York. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.)