Beyond Sriharikota: Equatorial Strategic Anchor Framework for India-Seychelles Cooperation
The Equatorial Strategic Anchor Framework (ESAF) explains how Seychelles — despite its small size — is becoming central to India's Indo-Pacific strategy through a five-stage progression. "Beyond Sriharikota" does not propose an Indian launch site in Seychelles; it describes a conditional, long-term path toward satellite tracking and Earth-observation cooperation, contingent on mutual consent and Seychelles' sovereignty.
By Esha
The strategic significance of the Indian Ocean has been fundamentally redefined in the 21st century, evolving from a maritime trade corridor into a central arena of geopolitics, technological innovation, economic connectivity, and maritime governance increasingly converging. Carrying nearly 80% of the world's merchandise trade by volume, the Indian Ocean has become far more than a conduit for global commerce (UNCTAD, 2024). For India, whose security and economic prosperity remain deeply dependent on secure sea lines of communication, the stability of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) has become inseparable from its broader vision of the Indo-Pacific (Kaplan, 2010; Brewster, 2014). This is reflected in initiatives like Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) and the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI), both of which seek to promote a rules-based maritime order through cooperation rather than confrontation (Prime Minister's Office, 2015; Ministry of External Affairs, 2019). In this evolving environment, strategic influence is increasingly determined not only by geography or hard power, but by the capacity of states to translate geography into resilient governance, technological cooperation, and institutional partnerships (Till, 2018; Pant, 2021).
Seychelles illustrates how strategic influence extends beyond territorial size through advanced maritime governance, regional cooperation, and connectivity across the Western Indian Ocean. Comprising 115 islands and an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of approximately 1.37 million km², the archipelago occupies a strategic position along major shipping routes linking eastern Africa, the Gulf region, South Asia, and the wider Indo-Pacific (Government of Seychelles, n.d.). Despite its status as a Small Island Developing State (SIDS), it has emerged as an active contributor to maritime governance, Blue Economy, and cooperative security in the region (OECD, 2016; UNODC, 2023; FAO, 2024). These geographic advantages have shaped its national priorities centred on environmental sustainability, climate resilience, responsible ocean governance, and Blue Economy development, reinforcing Seychelles' role as a trusted partner for regional cooperation and its evolving strategic partnership with India (Government of Seychelles, 2018; Government of Seychelles, 2023).
Building on these shared strategic realities, India and Seychelles have developed a relationship based on mutual trust, respect for sovereignty, shared maritime interests, and a commitment to a secure, stable, and inclusive regional order (Ministry of External Affairs, 2024;Ministry of External Affairs, 2026). Bilateral engagement has expanded from conventional diplomacy to embracing defence cooperation, hydrographic surveys, coastal surveillance, maritime capacity building, humanitarian assistance, and support for Seychelles' Blue Economy (Ministry of External Affairs, 2024). The 2026 Joint Vision for Sustainability, Economic Growth and Security through Enhanced Linkages (SESEL), identifies sustainability, maritime security, digital transformation, climate resilience, and institutional capacity building as shared priorities, reflecting a broader transition from traditional security cooperation to multidimensional strategic collaboration. These developments provide the context for examining how geography, maritime governance, technological cooperation, and institutional partnerships collectively shape the long-term evolution of the bilateral relationship.
The Equatorial Strategic Anchor Framework (ESAF)
Against this backdrop, the Equatorial Strategic Anchor Framework (ESAF) provides an integrative analytical framework for understanding how strategically positioned island and coastal states transform geographic advantage into enduring regional influence through the interaction of maritime governance, technological cooperation, institutional integration, and mutually beneficial partnerships.
The ESAF [Developed by Author]
ESAF conceptualises strategic cooperation as a cumulative process comprising five sequential and mutually reinforcing stages. Each stage builds upon the previous one, progressively transforming geographic opportunity into long-term regional resilience and Indo-Pacific stability.
The Five Stages: The Analytical Logic Behind ESAF
Stage I: Strategic Geography
It provides the foundational condition for long-term cooperation. Seychelles' location at the intersection of major sea lines of communication in the Western Indian Ocean, together with its extensive EEZ, creates opportunities for maritime connectivity, ocean governance, and regional engagement (Government of Seychelles, n.d.). Within ESAF, geography creates opportunity but does not itself constitute strategic influence.
Stage II: Maritime Governance
This translates geographic opportunity into functional strategic capability through maritime governance. Within ESAF, maritime governance extends beyond conventional naval cooperation to encompass MDA, hydrographic cooperation, Blue Economy initiatives, marine resource management, cooperative security arrangements, information sharing and cooperative maritime institutions (Germond, 2015; Till, 2018). These mechanisms strengthen a state's ability to manage its maritime domain while promoting transparency, capacity building, and regional cooperation. Consequently, maritime governance operationalises the strategic potential created by geography and establishes the institutional and operational foundation upon which more advanced forms of cooperation can evolve.
Stage III: Space-enabled Governance
It introduces space-enabled governance as a force multiplier for maritime governance. ESAF conceptualises space technologies not as an independent strategic domain but as an enabling layer that enhances maritime decision-making through satellite-based Earth observation, remote sensing, ocean monitoring, digital connectivity, disaster early-warning systems, climate observation, and sustainable marine resource management. By integrating technological capabilities with maritime governance, space-enabled governance improves situational awareness, supports evidence-informed policymaking, and strengthens resilience against both traditional and non-traditional maritime challenges (Government of India, 2023; INCOIS, 2024).
Stage IV: Institutional Integration
This stage focuses on institutional integration, through which sustained cooperation becomes embedded within formal mechanisms, policy coordination, capacity-building initiatives, and long-term partnerships. Rather than viewing cooperation as a series of isolated projects, ESAF emphasises the importance of institutional trust, joint governance mechanisms, technical exchanges, and collaborative implementation frameworks in sustaining strategic relationships. Contemporary initiatives such as hydrographic cooperation, digital public infrastructure (DPI), disaster resilience partnerships, and capacity-building programmes illustrate how institutional integration transforms technological cooperation into durable strategic partnerships while fully respecting national sovereignty and mutual consent (Ministry of External Affairs, 2026; Government of India, 2023).
Stage V: Advanced Strategic Capabilities
It represents the long-term consolidation of strategic cooperation. Where mutually agreed, technically feasible, environmentally sustainable, and fully consistent with national sovereignty, mature institutional partnerships may create opportunities to assess advanced strategic capabilities, including space-support infrastructure. Such capabilities are not conceptualised as inevitable outcomes but as possible manifestations of a deeply institutionalised partnership. Ultimately, the cumulative interaction of all preceding stages strengthens regional resilience, enhances cooperative security, and contributes to a stable, inclusive, resilient and rules-based Indo-Pacific order.
Unlike existing approaches that examine maritime strategy, small-state agency, or Indo-Pacific geopolitics separately, ESAF integrates these perspectives within a single analytical framework. In doing so, ESAF provides a new analytical lens for understanding the strategic relevance of SIDS within the Indo-Pacific.
Evolution of India-Seychelles Relations: From Maritime Partnership to Strategic Convergence
Strategic partnerships seldom emerge from geography alone; they evolve when geography is recognised, institutionalised, and transformed into shared political purpose. What began as a post-colonial partnership centred on development cooperation has gradually matured into one of India's most enduring maritime relationships in the Western Indian Ocean. More importantly, it demonstrates how a rising regional power and a SIDS like Seychelles have sought to advance security through cooperation rather than dependence.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1976,[1] bilateral engagement has undergone three interconnected phases: development cooperation and institution-building; the consolidation of maritime security cooperation in response to emerging regional threats; and, increasingly, broader strategic convergence encompassing maritime governance, climate resilience, the Blue Economy, and technological cooperation. Rather than isolated policy shifts, these phases illustrate the progressive transformation of bilateral engagement in response to changing regional and global strategic dynamics (Ministry of External Affairs, 2024).
Bilateral relations developed within a framework of South-South cooperation, supported by historical Indian Ocean linkages and shared participation in institutions such as the Commonwealth, IORA, and the United Nations (Ministry of External Affairs, 2024). During this phase, cooperation focused primarily on development assistance, education, healthcare, and institutional capacity building, while maritime cooperation remained secondary to the broader developmental agenda.
The rise of Somali piracy, increasing incidents of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, trafficking networks, and the growing strategic interest of extra-regional powers underscored the vulnerability of island states possessing vast maritime jurisdictions but limited enforcement capabilities (Germond, 2015; UNODC, 2023). Simultaneously, India recognised that the security of its maritime neighbourhood was intrinsically linked to its own economic and strategic interests. With approximately 95% of India's trade by volume and around 70% by value transported by sea, stability in the Western Indian Ocean assumed growing strategic significance for New Delhi (Press Information Bureau, 2026). This convergence of interests gradually transformed bilateral engagement from development-oriented cooperation into a structured maritime security partnership.
India supported Seychelles through maritime surveillance, hydrographic cooperation, defence training, and the provision of key maritime assets, thereby strengthening the country's capacity to secure its extensive EEZ (Ministry of External Affairs, 2024). Rather than constituting a traditional security alliance, these initiatives emphasised capacity building while strengthening institutional trust and contributing to regional stability (Brewster, 2014).
India's articulation of the SAGAR vision in 2015 marking a significant evolution in New Delhi's engagement with the Indian Ocean from a predominantly security-centric approach to one encompassing sustainable development, disaster resilience, maritime governance, and regional partnerships. Within this vision, island states such as Seychelles acquired greater significance as partners in advancing a secure, inclusive, and cooperative maritime order (Prime Minister's Office, 2015). The subsequent Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) further expanded this cooperative agenda to include the Blue Economy, disaster resilience, science and technology, maritime capacity-building, and institutional cooperation. In parallel, India-Seychelles engagement increasingly extended beyond defence into hydrography, climate resilience, renewable energy, and ocean governance, reflecting a broader conception of maritime security as a multidimensional policy domain (Ministry of External Affairs, 2019). This broader agenda was reinforced through the 2026 India-Seychelles Joint Vision (SESEL), which expanded bilateral cooperation into digital transformation, climate resilience, capacity building, hydrography, renewable energy, and institutional cooperation (Ministry of External Affairs, 2026). Taken together, these developments demonstrate the gradual transformation of the relationship from development cooperation to a multidimensional strategic partnership and provide the empirical foundation for applying ESAF to its future evolution.
Seychelles in the Emerging Indo-Pacific Order
Within the evolving Indo-Pacific architecture, Seychelles' strategic relevance extends beyond its territorial size. Although it possesses a land area of only about 455 km2, it exercises sovereign jurisdiction over an EEZ of approximately 1.37 million km2, one of the largest relative to its territorial size among SIDS (Government of Seychelles, 2018). As maritime trade, energy flows, and undersea digital infrastructure become increasingly important, effective governance of this maritime space has become central to Seychelles' strategic relevance (UNCTAD, 2024; Kaplan, 2010). The Seychelles Country Climate and Development Report further highlights the governance and resource-management challenges associated with this vast maritime jurisdiction, reinforcing the importance of institutional capacity, sustainable marine management, climate resilience, and access to climate finance for long-term development (World Bank, 2026).
Seychelles has complemented its geographic advantages with an active diplomatic strategy that emphasises multilateralism, international law, and cooperative ocean governance (Government of Seychelles, 2023). Through its engagement in regional organisations such as the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), and United Nations initiatives concerning the Blue Economy and sustainable development, Seychelles has consistently positioned itself as a proactive contributor to regional governance rather than merely a beneficiary of external partnerships (Government of Seychelles, 2023). This approach is further reflected in national policy frameworks such as the Seychelles Blue Economy Strategic Framework and Roadmap (2018-2030) and the National Development Strategy (2023-2028), which prioritize sustainable ocean governance, climate resilience, institutional capacity and sustainable economic development.
The growing strategic engagement of major powers, including India, China, France, and the United States, has transformed the Western Indian Ocean into a region of heightened geopolitical attention (Pant, 2021; Aryal & Nair, 2025). Yet, interpreting Seychelles solely through the prism of great-power competition risks overlooking its own strategic agency. Seychelles has consistently pursued a balanced foreign policy that engages multiple partners while preserving its sovereignty and strategic autonomy, thereby positioning itself as an active participant rather than a passive object of regional geopolitics (Government of Seychelles, 2023; Ministry of External Affairs, 2024).
Beyond geopolitics, Seychelles has assumed an important role in advancing the Blue Economy by linking economic development with environmental sustainability, marine conservation, and climate resilience. This approach reflects a broader transformation encompassing IUU fishing, piracy, trafficking, marine pollution, resource governance, and climate-induced risks (FAO, 2024; UNODC, 2023). Addressing these interconnected challenges increasingly depends upon integrated institutional mechanisms, including maritime information sharing, hydrographic cooperation, disaster resilience, sustainable coastal management, and satellite-supported ocean observation. Contemporary initiatives such as the Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) demonstrate how regional cooperation can strengthen maritime governance while respecting national sovereignty (Government of India, 2023; Ministry of External Affairs, 2024).
Importantly, these priorities originate from Seychelles's own national development agenda rather than external strategic prescriptions (Government of Seychelles, 2023). Within this context, frameworks such as SAGAR, the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI), and the 2026 India-Seychelles Joint Vision (SESEL) reinforce, and not redefine, Seychelles' existing development priorities by supporting maritime governance, climate resilience, digital transformation, hydrography, and institutional capacity building (Prime Minister's Office, 2015; Ministry of External Affairs, 2019, 2026).
Seychelles' strategic relevance therefore derives not simply from its geographic location but from the interaction of geography, governance, institutional cooperation, technological capability, and strategic autonomy. This perspective reinforces ESAF's central proposition that geography acquires enduring strategic value only when supported by effective governance and cooperative institutions. Although developed in the context of India-Seychelles relations, ESAF also offers a broader analytical framework for understanding how strategically positioned SIDS can transform geographic opportunity into regional resilience.
From Maritime Security to Space-Enabled Maritime Governance: Reframing India-Seychelles Maritime Cooperation
While conventional approaches to maritime security have traditionally emphasised naval power, patrol vessels, and coastal surveillance, the growing complexity of transnational maritime challenges has expanded the scope of governance beyond physical presence at sea. IUU fishing, piracy, marine pollution, climate-induced disasters, trafficking, and the protection of critical maritime infrastructure increasingly require continuous situational awareness rather than episodic surveillance (UNODC, 2023; FAO, 2024). Space-enabled technologies provide timely, accurate, and integrated information across vast oceanic spaces, supporting a broader shift from reactive maritime security towards anticipatory maritime governance, in which information, interoperability, and technological integration complement conventional maritime assets (Germond, 2015; Till, 2018).
For island states such as Seychelles, maintaining effective awareness across a vast EEZ presents significant institutional and financial challenges. Satellite-enabled MDA complements conventional maritime capabilities by integrating remote sensing, satellite imagery, Automatic Identification System (AIS) data, oceanographic observations, and geospatial analytics into a comprehensive picture of maritime activity (Germond, 2015; World Bank, 2026). These capabilities also support national priorities relating to climate resilience, coastal protection, and sustainable development.
Operationally, satellite-enabled governance can be strengthened through regional information-sharing mechanisms such as IFC-IOR, disaster resilience initiatives under CDRI, coastal management expertise through NCSCM[2], and coordinated disaster response supported by institutions such as the NDRF. Together, these initiatives demonstrate how technological capability is translated into practical maritime governance (Ministry of External Affairs, 2024; Government of India, 2023).
Satellite-enabled governance is equally significant for combating IUU fishing, one of the Western Indian Ocean's most pressing non-traditional maritime security challenges. By integrating satellite imagery, vessel-tracking systems, and geospatial intelligence, authorities can detect suspicious fishing activity, improve enforcement across remote EEZs, and strengthen marine conservation. Beyond enforcement, these capabilities support coastal livelihoods and the long-term sustainability of the Blue Economy, illustrating how space technologies function as instruments of governance and resource stewardship rather than purely military assets (FAO, 2024; UNODC, 2023).
The increasing digitalisation of maritime governance further expands opportunities for technological cooperation between India and Seychelles via interoperable data platforms, information-sharing mechanisms, and resilient digital infrastructure, translating space-derived information into operational maritime governance while strengthening institutional interoperability and emergency response (Government of India, 2023; Ministry of External Affairs, 2026).
India's Space Policy 2023 promotes the peaceful, commercial, and collaborative use of space technologies (Government of India, 2023). Although not directed specifically towards Seychelles, its emphasis on downstream space applications creates opportunities for bilateral cooperation in MDA, ocean observation, disaster risk reduction, environmental monitoring, and DPI, further complementing India's broader maritime and Indo-Pacific engagement.
Viewed through ESAF, space-enabled governance, environmental sustainability, and technological collaboration can reinforce one another in strengthening maritime resilience. Over time, deeper institutional and technological cooperation may also create the conditions for assessing more advanced forms of strategic cooperation. It is this long-term possibility, rather than an immediate infrastructure proposition, that forms the focus of the following section.
Beyond Sriharikota: Assessing Long-term Strategic Possibilities
As India's civil, commercial, and strategic space activities continue to expand, future requirements for satellite operations, tracking networks, Earth observation, and other space-support capabilities may create opportunities for deeper international cooperation (Government of India, 2023; IN-SPACe, 2023). Against this backdrop, the evolution of India-Seychelles cooperation can expand beyond maritime security, disaster management, capacity building, and ocean governance. Continued technological integration could gradually extend collaboration to satellite-data infrastructure, tracking facilities, collaborative research, and other space-support capabilities. Within ESAF, advanced space-support infrastructure is therefore treated as a conditional long-term possibility rather than an immediate policy objective, subject to technical, environmental, legal, financial and geopolitical feasibility, mutual consent, and respect for Seychelles' sovereignty.
Why Equatorial Geography Still Matters?
Although advances in technology have reduced many geographical constraints, the location of infrastructure remains important for satellite communication, Earth observation, telemetry, tracking, and launch operations. Seychelles occupies a unique position in the Western Indian Ocean, close to the equator and situated along critical maritime routes connecting Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Combined with trusted bilateral relations and institutional cooperation, Seychelles' near-equatorial location enhances its long-term strategic relevance, a premise that underpins the ESAF (ISRO, 2023; ESA, 2023). While reusable launch vehicles and advances in propulsion technologies have reduced some of the traditional constraints associated with space access, equatorial geography continues to offer durable operational advantages for certain categories of launch missions. Because the Earth’s rotational velocity is greatest at the equator, eastward launches can benefit from additional velocity, potentially reducing propellant requirements or increasing payload capacity. Low-latitude locations therefore retain operational value, particularly for missions involving geostationary orbits (ISRO, 2023; ESA, 2023).
Limitations and Technical considerations
Equatorial geography alone does not make a suitable launch site. India's existing launch facilities benefit from eastward trajectories over the Bay of Bengal that minimise operational and safety risks. Given Seychelles' location west of India, any future launch-related infrastructure would require comprehensive technical, environmental, legal, and operational assessment. Accordingly, ESAF does not advocate overseas launch facilities but instead identifies greater near-term potential in tracking infrastructure, satellite-data systems, Earth observation, oceanographic research, and other space-support capabilities.
Comparative Assessment of Potential Equatorial Locations for Long-term Space Cooperation
International Precedents and Emerging Commercial Opportunities:
The Guiana Space Centre at Kourou in French Guiana, operated by France and the European Space Agency, and the former Sea Launch programme demonstrated that equatorial geography continues to retain strategic relevance when supported by appropriate technology, institutions, and political commitment (ESA, 2023). In this context, Seychelles warrants further technical and policy evaluation as a potential long-term partner. India's expanding commercial space ecosystem under IN-SPACe, NSIL, and the Space Policy 2023 further broadens the institutional possibilities for future international cooperation involving public and private actors (Government of India, 2023).
Beyond Sriharikota: A Long-term Cooperative Trajectory
From this perspective, the notion of "Beyond Sriharikota" does not advocate the immediate establishment of an overseas launch platform. Rather, it represents a long-term strategic possibility in which India and Seychelles progressively deepen cooperation across peaceful space applications in satellite-enabled maritime governance, Earth observation, disaster monitoring, oceanographic research, and, where mutually agreed and technically feasible, tracking infrastructure, space-data systems, and collaborative research facilities. Any such development would require mutual consent, financial viability, environmental safeguards, compliance with international law, and full respect for Seychelles’ sovereignty and developmental priorities.
Strategic Challenges
1. Sovereignty, Environmental Safeguards, and Agaléga: Future strategic cooperation must remain fully consistent with Seychelles' sovereignty, environmental regulations, and domestic decision-making processes. The experience of infrastructure debates surrounding Agaléga Islands in Mauritius illustrates the importance of transparency, public consultation, environmental assessment, and local participation in maintaining legitimacy and regional confidence (Pant, 2021; Ministry of External Affairs, 2024).
2. Financing and Geopolitical Considerations: Given the high costs associated with advanced space-support infrastructure, future cooperation should prioritise sustainable financing through public-private partnerships, multilateral institutions, research collaboration, and commercial investment. Seychelles' policy of strategic autonomy further requires that any future partnership remain transparent, non-exclusive, and compatible with its diversified international relationships (Government of Seychelles, 2023).
3. Local Participation and Capacity Building: Infrastructure alone cannot generate sustainable cooperation without parallel investment and should be accompanied by capacity-building. Accordingly, future India-Seychelles collaboration should prioritise scholarships, joint university programmes, technical training in geospatial sciences, maritime analytics, remote sensing, satellite applications, and space law. This will ensure that technological cooperation contributes to national capability rather than external dependence.
4. International Legal and Regulatory Considerations: Any future space-support activity would need to comply with domestic legislation, applicable maritime and environmental obligations, and international legal frameworks, including the Outer Space Treaty (1967). These legal requirements reinforce ESAF's emphasis on gradual, institutionally grounded, and legally compliant cooperation (United Nations, 1967).
Policy Roadmap for Future Cooperation
The phased roadmap operationalizes ESAF's incremental logic by linking governance, institutional trust, technological cooperation, and shared capacity rather than immediate infrastructure commitments. To support this process, a Joint Working Group on Space-enabled Maritime Governance and Blue Economy Cooperation could coordinate satellite applications, hydrography, climate monitoring, geospatial capacity building, and future technical assessments while facilitating transparent, demand-driven, and mutually beneficial implementation.
Phase | Strategic Objective | Key Activities | Expected Outcomes |
Phase I: Governance | Space-Enabled Maritime Governance | Satellite data sharing, MDA, disaster warning, fisheries monitoring, remote sensing | Enhanced Maritime Domain Awareness and institutional interoperability |
Phase II: Scientific Cooperation & Capacity Building | Maritime Science & Human-Capital Development | Joint oceanographic research, Blue Economy initiatives, climate monitoring, marine biodiversity studies, academic exchanges and satellite-application training | Strengthened scientific capability and skilled human capital |
Phase III: Assessment | Joint Feasibility and Regulatory Assessment | Technical, environmental, legal, financial, and geopolitical assessments of advanced space-support infrastructure | Evidence-based policy options supporting informed decision-making |
Phase IV: Strategic Capability | Advanced Space-support Capabilities (Conditional)
| Subject to successful feasibility studies, explore satellite tracking stations, telemetry facilities, space-data centres, and other commercially viable strategic infrastructure | Long-term tech partnership supporting maritime governance, Blue Economy development, regional resilience, and peaceful space cooperation within the Indo-Pacific. |
Phased Policy Roadmap for future Cooperation
Source: Developed by the author based on the Equatorial Strategic Anchor Framework (ESAF) and informed by Government of India (2023), Ministry of External Affairs (2026), Government of Seychelles (2023), FAO (2024), and World Bank (2026)
Conclusion
This study demonstrates that Seychelles should be understood not merely as a strategically located Small Island Developing State (SIDS), but as an active strategic partner whose relevance emerges through the interaction of geography, maritime governance, technological cooperation, and institutional partnerships. Examining India-Seychelles relations through the Equatorial Strategic Anchor Framework (ESAF) shows that the bilateral partnership has evolved beyond conventional defence cooperation towards a multidimensional model encompassing MDA, the Blue Economy, climate resilience, digital connectivity, and peaceful space applications.
Within this broader evolution, "Beyond Sriharikota" should be understood not as a proposal for an overseas launch facility, but as a long-term cooperative trajectory centred on satellite-enabled maritime governance, scientific collaboration, and peaceful space applications. Any future consideration of advanced space-support capabilities must remain contingent upon technical feasibility, mutual consent, environmental sustainability, and full respect for Seychelles' sovereignty.
Future research should be built upon ESAF through interdisciplinary technical, legal, environmental, commercial, and geopolitical assessments evaluating the feasibility of advanced space-support cooperation in the Western Indian Ocean. More broadly, the framework suggests that geography generates enduring strategic value only when institutionalised through governance, technological innovation, and sustained international cooperation.
Beyond India-Seychelles relations, ESAF offers an analytical framework for understanding how strategically positioned SIDS can transform geographic advantage into long-term regional resilience without compromising sovereignty or strategic autonomy. If pursued through a phased, transparent, and mutually beneficial partnership, Seychelles has the potential to emerge as an Equatorial Strategic Anchor linking maritime governance, space-enabled cooperation, and regional resilience in support of a stable, inclusive, and rules-based Indo-Pacific.
Ultimately, the future of the Indo-Pacific will be shaped not merely by strategic geography, but by the wisdom of sovereign nations to transform geography into trusted partnerships, resilient governance, shared prosperity, and enduring peace.
About the Author
Esha is a Political Science researcher and currently a Research Intern at the National Maritime Foundation (NMF). Her research interests include geopolitics, strategic affairs, maritime security, human rights, border governance, and India’s foreign policy. She holds a BA (Hons.) in Political Science from Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, and is pursuing an MA in Political Science from IGNOU. Her work explores the intersection of security, mobility, human rights, and international affairs.
Email: etokas.8287@gmail.com
Link for original paper: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IHY5UpTvVpmuOTSNUYIerSkBnKH008ks1x7ORn_lyWQ/edit?usp=drivesdk
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