Why Indian Navy must safeguard Oman’s maritime interests

MUSCAT, OMAN—Omanis were happy with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to their country. Oman is peaceful and prides itself on both its moderation and its prioritisation of diplomacy above all else. Radicalism is rare. In a region blighted by war and instability, Oman relishes its neutrality. Still, Modi’s visit to Sultan Haitham affirmed a relationship between the two countries and added depth to a relationship which Omanis see best fits their moderate worldview.

Tying Oman to India makes sense. While rhetorical promises accompany all visits, the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement was a real achievement; Oman is now one of the few countries to enjoy free trade agreements with both India and the United States. The agreement is symbiotic. Oman has resources, space, and industrial and technological know-how; India has both plus human capital. As free trade zones at Salalah and Sohar and the Special Economic Zone at Duqm grow, the space is ripe for Indian investment and manpower.

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Oman’s traditional moderation is also a net positive. Too often, labour camps in Qatar and Saudi Arabia become engines for radicalisation; Oman’s moderation and prioritisation of a more educated labour force lessen the ultimate security risk posed by the return of radicalised workers upon the expiration of their contracts. Simply put, Modi’s meeting with Sultan Haitham already pays dividends.

Still, India could do more. It is easy to sign memorandums of understanding; it is harder to infuse them with substance. Trade requires security, and while India and Oman can flourish together, they both face common threats.

To protect its economy, India must be the major military power in the Indian Ocean Basin, if not beyond. China already contests India’s role, but China’s danger goes far beyond both India and the traditional military. Every Indian Ocean littoral state faces a threat from the Chinese fishing fleet. While, in theory, Chinese fishermen remain outside Oman’s territorial waters and exclusive economic zone, in reality, they often violate Omani waters at night. Whereas Oman prioritises sustainable fishing, Chinese boats destroy the marine ecosystem of the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea. Chinese fishing is round the clock. Fishing boats remain permanently on station, transferring their industrial-scale catch to motherships to freeze and transport.

Nor is Oman the only country that suffers from Chinese rapaciousness: Somaliland, Yemen, Kenya, and Mozambique all complain about Chinese actions. So too do the Indian Ocean island nations. China operates best in the shadows; if the Indian Navy shadowed the Chinese fishing fleet, monitoring its catch and preventing its incursions into Oman’s territorial waters, China would be hard-pressed to steal. Filming overfishing with drones or video cameras would undermine Chinese influence without a shot being fired; China likes to promise and promote itself, but when the populations of Indian Ocean basin countries see the reality of Chinese behaviour, the Indian model will gain traction.

India might further augment its influence by extending coast guard partnerships to Oman and Yemen. Both countries have huge coastlines and lack the capacity to fully patrol them. Weapons smugglers take advantage of gaps; this in turn threatens freedom of navigation as Houthis use their weaponry to target shipping. India's assertiveness is even more important as the United States retrenches due to both economic and ideological reasons.

Centuries of shared legacy and cultural exchange prime the Oman-India relationship to be a bedrock for 21st-century security. But free trade depends not only on treaties and agreements. While India embraces a world order based on the rule of law, such order depends on friendly militaries asserting power to prevent vacuums revisionist states like China can fill. There are no shortcuts.

(Michael Rubin is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and director of policy analysis at the Middle East Forum. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.)