India Bolsters Maritime Shield Across Southeast Asia As Iran War Disrupts global Trade

By Vijian Paramasivam

PHNOM PENH, May 11 (Bernama) -- India is swiftly transforming Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Act East Policy” into an indispensable maritime security strategy by engaging Southeast Asian nations.

The shift is no coincidence. As the West Asia conflict is disrupting maritime routes and threatening global energy flows, the world’s fourth-largest economy, India, is securing its sea lanes to maintain economic stability.

Nearly 95 per cent of India’s trade by volume, including energy imports, is shipped through the Indian Ocean, which is emerging as a central maritime arena of geopolitical competition.

“The growing tempo of military and maritime engagements between India and Southeast Asian states signals a clear shift from symbolic diplomacy toward more operational security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific,” Dr Pratnashree Basu, Associate Fellow with the Strategic Studies Programme at India’s Observer Research Foundation, told Bernama.

Behind the scenes, New Delhi is solidifying its defence presence across Southeast Asia through military exercises, naval diplomacy and operational coordination this year.

Any disruptions in maritime routes could severely impact fuel supplies, destabilise economies, and threaten livelihoods, including India’s 1.4 billion people, as demonstrated by recent conflict involving Iran.

This could spill over to ASEAN, India’s vital trading partner, boasting a total trade of over US$100 billion (RM392 billion) currently.

India is intensifying defence engagements with Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam and Indonesia -- nations increasingly caught in the crosscurrents of Indo-Pacific power rivalry.

Indian Navy held talks with its Myanmar counterpart on May 3 to deepen maritime cooperation. The visit by Indian warships INS Satpura and INS Sunayna to Myanmar underscored India’s goal to safeguard the vital maritime corridor linking South Asia to Southeast Asia.

India and Myanmar share more than a 1,600-kilometre land border and a sensitive maritime boundary.

The Indian Army launched India-Cambodia Bilateral Military Exercise II a day later, further signalling India's expanding security mechanism with ASEAN. 

Vietnam, meanwhile, has emerged as one of India’s most strategically significant defence partners.

The proposed sale of India’s indigenous BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system and several offshore patrol vessels to Hanoi this month marks a major milestone in bilateral defence ties.

Indonesia has also become a critical pillar in India’s Indo-Pacific security architecture. 

The 10th edition of the India-Indonesia Joint Special Forces Exercise “Garuda Shakti,” held last December, reflects growing military synergy between two major regional maritime powers.

“The growing frequency of India-Southeast Asia military and naval exercises reflects a broader recognition that economic security is inseparable from maritime security. 

“These engagements are therefore not merely symbolic, they are part of a wider effort to improve preparedness, coordination, and strategic resilience across the Indo-Pacific,” said Pratnashree.

In the region, the Strait of Malacca, that links the Indian Ocean, is vital as nearly 50 per cent of the world’s oil and gas shipments pass through its waters while about 125,500 ships transited the 900-km-long strait last year, according to the Maritime Institute of Malaysia.

India’s growing emphasis on maritime cooperation in the Indian Ocean reflects the increasing strategic and economic importance of the maritime domain to its national interests, said Pratnashree. 

“By prioritising maritime cooperation with ASEAN and other regional partners, India seeks to expand coordinated naval exercises, strengthen information-sharing on shipping and vessel movements, improve humanitarian assistance and disaster relief coordination, combat piracy and illegal fishing, and reinforce a rules-based maritime order,” she said.

Modi’s “Act East Policy” has moved beyond the traditional diplomacy, trade and connectivity.

“Modi government is expanding the strategic and security dimensions of the Act East Policy beyond its earlier economic and diplomatic focus. 

“Exercises demonstrate India’s growing emphasis on defence diplomacy, military interoperability, and regional security partnerships across the Indo-Pacific,” said Pratnashree.

-- BERNAMA