Will India join proposed naval coalition to secure Strait of Hormuz?
One of the two key common focus areas of Modi’s teletalk with Trump and Macron was the safe and unimpeded maritime shipping through the Strait, the energy lifeline of 25% of the world’s energy supplies.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's telephone conversations with US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron on 14 and 16 April respectively brought out how New Delhi has stepped up the tempo of its diplomatic campaign for ensuring safe and free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
One of the two key common focus areas of Modi's teletalk with Trump and Macron was the safe and unimpeded maritime shipping through the Strait, the energy lifeline of 25% of the world's energy supplies.
India's pressing priority is to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. But New Delhi's declared support for freedom of navigation may no longer suffice and it must now gravitate towards active participation in the global effort to secure unimpeded shipping through the Strait. But here lies the big challenge for India.
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On 17 April, India joined a UK-initiated virtual meeting of 35 countries to explore ways to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Foreign secretary Vikram Misri represented India at the meeting. This was the second such meeting he participated in through virtual mode after 2 April.
Both the US and its NATO allies agree on the main objective of securing navigation through the Strait, but their strategies are starkly different. European countries are working on a proposal to form a broad international "defensive" coalition aimed at securing shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, including deploying mine-clearing and other naval assets, a report by The Wall Street Journal said.
However, the initiative is expected to be rolled out only after the West Asian conflict ends and importantly without US involvement, the report added.
In a post on X, Macron has said the proposal is aimed at strengthening long-term maritime security and safeguarding global shipping lanes.
The crucial question for India as also for many other countries is how a European naval deployment would operate independent of US command. Secondly, given the chasm between the US and Europe, which way the other countries would go.
The divergences between the US and its NATO allies not just on the West Asia war but also on the Ukraine conflict, Trump's tariffs and claim on Greenland reflect the larger geopolitical shift.
The West Asia conflict has also forced Italy to cancel a 21-year-old defence agreement with Tel Aviv. Early in the war, Spain refused to let the US use their air bases.
Is India ready to join a proposed international naval coalition to keep the Strait of Hormuz safe and open to shipping?
Top commanders of the Indian Navy met in New Delhi for three days from 14 April for brainstorming the Navy's operational posture to protect national maritime interests, capability development and strategic alignment with national security objectives. The event was significant in the light of swift naval deployments to safeguard India's energy security amidst the ongoing conflict in West Asia with convergence of multi-national forces in the Indian Ocean Region.
The Indian Navy has deployed a number of warships in the Gulf of Oman to escort India-flagged cargo vessels sailing through the Strait of Hormuz which is at the centre of the West Asian war.
The Indian Navy Maritime Security Strategy for 2026 released by the Chief of the Naval Staff recently outlines the Navy's security strategy in the maritime domain in the coming decade in the evolving security environment.
The strategy is anchored in an assessment of the evolving geopolitical landscape, disruptive technologies and the changing character of warfare along with an assessment of the prevailing operational environment amidst the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
However, the Navy Chief pointed to a challenge presented by increasing complexities in maritime security where concurrent conflicts, a weakening rules-based order, and increased threats posed by non-state actors are converging to create a highly contested operational space for the Indian Navy.
At the same time, he reiterated the Indian Navy's obligations in the Indian Ocean Region, which has an increasingly assertive military presence of China, within the emerging geo-strategic landscape and stressed the importance of a cohesive approach through proactive engagements with "friendly foreign countries" in both multilateral and bilateral exercises.
