India launches air base in Mauritius amid China’s regional sway

India and Mauritius have jointly inaugurated an Indian-financed air base on the island of Agalega in Mauritius.

The base, inaugurated on Thursday, is considered to be of high significance to India to counter China’s influence in the region.

The land, with just 300 inhabitants, is situated at a prime location in the southwest Indian Ocean. According to reports, it will be used as a naval base and a launching pad where Indian aircraft will be able to support the country’s ships.

Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said, “There has never been a project to turn Agalega into a military base.”

“India-bashing campaign is fomented by some people in Mauritius and abroad.”

However, in 2018, Jugnauth confirmed to the Financial Times that, “India would be allowed to utilize the facilities in Agalega subject to prior notification from the competent authorities of Mauritius.”

The 3-kilometer air strip and jetty project was agreed upon during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2015 visit to Mauritius and cost 8.8 billion Mauritian rupees ($192 million).

The facilities at Agalega will enable maritime patrols over the Mozambique Channel and will also allow the Indian Navy to observe shipping routes around southern Africa.

Experts say the Agalega has strategic military value in a region where China has steadily increased its presence over the past 25 years.

A large portion of China’s imports pass through the Indian Ocean and the Straits of Malacca, making the area extremely important for China.

Beijing has invested heavily in infrastructure with Chinese-built ports in Angola, Cameroon, the Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Mauritania and Mozambique.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said in September 2023 that Indian authorities are closely monitoring ports that China has built in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and other areas around the Indian Ocean region.

“From an Indian point of view, I would say it’s very reasonable for us to try and prepare for greater Chinese presence than we have seen before,” Jaishankar said.

An archipelago of four islands, Mauritius also includes Saint-Brandon and Rodrigues, which has had an autonomous status since 2001.

The naval base in Agalega has raised fears of a repeat of the 1965 decision by Britain to separate the Chagos Islands from Mauritius and set up a joint military base with the United States on Diego Garcia, the largest of the isles.

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ruled in 2021 that Britain has no sovereignty over the islands. But the British government said it would only return them when they no longer serve defense purposes.

Britain has renewed a lease agreement with the United States to use Diego Garcia until 2036.

Diego Garcia’s air and sea bases played a strategic role during the Cold War and during the war in Afghanistan.

SS