With an eye on China, India sends aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya to Male

NEW DELHI: It's 44,500 tonnes of robust Indian diplomacy cruising on the high seas, hot on the trail of the Chinese in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), first in Sri Lanka and now, Maldives.

India has dispatched its largest and most potent warship, aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, accompanied by destroyer INS Mysore and tanker INS Deepak, to Maldives to reaffirm its abiding commitment to be "the net security provider" in the IOR.

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"INS Vikramaditya made its first-ever foreign port call at Colombo on January 21-22. Now, it will be on a goodwill visit to Male from February 15 to 18, as part of the overall policy to shape a favourable maritime environment in IOR with both presence and engagement," said an officer.

What is left unsaid is that India is slowly but surely cranking up its military maritime diplomacy with "Project Mausam" to effectively counter the ever-expanding Chinese strategic footprint in the entire IOR.

From the Gwadar port in Pakistan to Hambantota in Sri Lanka, China has assiduously forged deep linkages with several IOR countries with an eye on the future. India is now trying to play catch-up, even though its sluggishness in delivering on its promises continues to be a major stumbling block. The strategically-located Maldives, in particular, has emerged as a key area in the ongoing geopolitical jostling.

After a chill during the bitter internal power struggle in the 1,190-island archipelago, India's bilateral ties with Maldives are now on an upswing once again with some quiet diplomacy. In the backdrop of international pressure on the absence of political reforms in the archipelago, and Indian foreign secretary S Jaishankar travelling to the country last month as PM Modi's special envoy, Maldives President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom this week announced his intention to re-start a multiparty dialogue in his country.

On the bilateral defence front, India also assured visiting Maldivian defence minister Adam Shareef last month of its continuing commitment to step up its military training and maritime surveillance as well as supply of Dornier patrol aircraft and helicopters to the archipelago.

There is also a plan underway to assist Maldives in setting up 10 coastal surveillance radar system (CSRS) stations in tune with overall policy to provide military aid and help in "capacity-building" of IOR countries.

The first of the eight such CSRS stations planned for Seychelles - five on the mainland and three on the outlying islands -- was inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi in March last year.