India and France have signed an agreement to enable information sharing on maritime traffic and maritime domain awareness in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR)
Significance:
- The agreement will enable navies of India and France to coordinate their roles in stabilising Indo-Pacific region.
- It will enhance Indo-French maritime security cooperation in the region.
Background:
India and France firmed up cooperation on sharing of radars in the Indian Ocean during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Paris in 2015. India is setting up a grid of coastal surveillance radars in the IOR that will enable it to monitor increasing Chinese presence in the area, France has shown interest in sharing data from surveillance systems on its Indian Ocean territories in the region that includes Mayotte, besides military bases in UAE and Djibouti. Both countries in the last couple of years are coordinating their naval movements and surveillance in the IOR. France retains interests and assets with territories like Reunion Islands in the IOR