India-UK MoU to set the Regional Maritime Security Centre of Excellence

Why in News? 

India and the United Kingdom have deepened their maritime security cooperation through a Memorandum of Understanding for setting up the Regional Maritime Security Centre of Excellence (RMSCE). 

The announcement came as India’s External Affairs Minister and the UK’s Foreign Secretary held the first annual meeting in New Delhi to review progress under India-UK Vision 2035. The ministers reviewed cooperation under all five pillars of the Vision 2035 framework: Growth, Technology and Innovation, Defence and Security, Climate and Clean Energy, and Education.

Indian Ocean Region has become one of the most strategically important maritime spaces in the world. It connects the energy-rich Persian Gulf, the manufacturing centres of East Asia, the markets of Europe, and the developing economies of Africa and South Asia. A major share of global trade, energy flows, and container shipping passes through this region.

India’s long coastline, island territories, offshore assets, ports, fisheries, energy imports and sea lines of communication make maritime security central to its strategic thinking. The UK has growing Indo-Pacific interests and seeks to work with like-minded partners to support maritime stability, freedom of navigation and resilient supply chains.

What is the Regional Maritime Security Centre of Excellence?

• The Regional Maritime Security Centre of Excellence is a proposed India-UK institutional platform aimed at strengthening maritime security capacity among Indian Ocean states. 
• The centre will be established by King’s College London and India’s National Maritime Foundation.
• It is expected to focus on research, training, policy dialogue, capacity-building and knowledge-sharing in the field of maritime security. 
• Its emphasis will be on non-traditional maritime security threats, which are increasingly affecting smaller coastal and island states in the Indian Ocean.

What are Non-Traditional Maritime Security Threats?

Non-traditional maritime security threats are security challenges that do not arise from conventional naval warfare alone. They are often transnational, irregular, hybrid and difficult for individual states to manage alone.

These threats include:

1. Piracy and armed robbery at sea.
2. Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
3. Drug trafficking and arms smuggling.
4. Human trafficking and irregular migration.
5. Maritime terrorism.
6. Cyber attacks on ports and shipping systems.
7. Threats to undersea cables and offshore energy infrastructure.
8. Marine pollution and illegal dumping.
9. Climate-induced disasters affecting coastal and island states.
10. Grey-zone activities and coercive maritime behaviour.

Why is the Centre Significant?

• Enhancing Maritime Domain Awareness: Effective maritime security requires real-time awareness of activities at sea. The centre can support research and capacity-building on maritime domain awareness, including the tracking of suspicious vessels, dark shipping, illegal fishing fleets, trafficking networks and threats to critical infrastructure.
• Addressing Hybrid and Grey-Zone Threats: The Indian Ocean is witnessing the rise of grey-zone tactics, where state and non-state actors use coercive actions below the threshold of open conflict. These may include maritime militia activity, coercive fishing fleets, cyber attacks, disinformation, and infrastructure pressure. The RMSCE can help develop common frameworks to understand and respond to such threats.
• Strengthening capacity of Indian Ocean States: Many Indian Ocean states have limited naval, coast guard, surveillance and legal capacities. They often face challenges in monitoring their maritime zones, enforcing laws and responding to transnational threats. The RMSCE can help build training, research and operational awareness capacities among these states.
• Supporting India’s Role as a Net Security Provider: India has increasingly projected itself as a net security provider in the Indian Ocean. Initiatives such as SAGAR, the Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region, coastal radar networks, defence training, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions already reflect this role. The RMSCE can add an intellectual and institutional layer to India’s maritime outreach.
• Deepening India-UK Strategic Partnership: India-UK relations are moving beyond historical and cultural ties towards technology, defence, maritime security, trade and resilient supply chains. The RMSCE fits within the Defence and Security pillar of India-UK Vision 2035 and strengthens the strategic dimension of bilateral ties.
• Protecting Critical Maritime Infrastructure: Ports, undersea cables, offshore energy platforms, shipping lanes, oil terminals and logistics hubs are critical to national economies. Recent global conflicts have shown that maritime infrastructure is highly vulnerable. The centre can contribute to risk assessment, policy planning and cooperative protection of critical maritime infrastructure.

Significance for the UK: 

• The initiative also serves UK interests. The UK has growing economic, strategic and security interests in the Indo-Pacific. Its trade, energy security and global naval posture depend on stable maritime routes. Cooperation with India allows the UK to remain engaged in the Indian Ocean through a trusted democratic partner. 
• The centre also aligns with the UK’s broader Indo-Pacific approach, which seeks cooperation with India on maritime security, defence technology, resilient supply chains and rules-based order.

Broader Geopolitical Context: 

The RMSCE must be understood against larger developments in the Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific.

• First, the Indian Ocean is witnessing increased strategic competition among major powers. China’s expanding naval presence, port investments and dual-use infrastructure have raised concerns among many regional actors
• Second, conflicts in West Asia and disruptions in the Red Sea have shown how maritime chokepoints can become vulnerable to geopolitical shocks.
• Third, non-traditional maritime threats have grown in scale due to climate stress, weak governance, illegal fishing, organised crime and technological vulnerabilities.
• Fourth, smaller Indian Ocean states often lack the capacity to monitor vast exclusive economic zones. This creates space for criminal networks, illegal fishing vessels and external strategic influence.

In this environment, India-UK maritime cooperation can contribute to a more stable and rules-based maritime order. However, the centre’s real value will depend on its ability to deliver practical capacity-building, support smaller Indian Ocean states and address emerging non-traditional maritime threats.