The following is an excerpt from an op-ed written by Rishi Gupta, Associate Director of ASPI New Delhi, and published in ThinkChina.

Amid growing geopolitical competition, on 11-12 March this year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Mauritius, a strategically key nation in the Western Indian Ocean. With 70% of Mauritians tracing their roots to India, cultural and historical ties have long underpinned Delhi’s close partnership with Port Louis.

However, beyond people-to-people connections, the India-Mauritius relationship has evolved into a critical pillar of New Delhi’s Indo-Pacific strategy, particularly in the maritime domain, where global powers, including China, seek to expand their influence.

While platforms like the Quad offer a minilateral counter, India’s security interests demand deeper bilateral collaborations, making its ties with Mauritius more crucial than ever. This is where Mauritius becomes India’s most dependable partner in the region.

However, since the general elections in Mauritius in November of last year, India has had the challenge of engaging with the new leadership, which remains crucial to Delhi’s overall engagement with Port Louis. While maintaining strong ties is central to India’s strategic and economic interests in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), it must navigate perceptions of political favoritism in Mauritius and counter China’s growing influence. But do the latest developments signal a decisive shift in India-Mauritius ties and the regional power balance?

Read the full op-ed here.