ST MARTIN, SPRATLY, KURIL AND SRILANKA: 4 ISLANDS AND SKIRMISHES IN THE INDO PACIFIC

Threats on the sovereignty by the first world countries continue to disturb the other parts. St.
Martin Island is located in the north-eastern part of the Bay of Bengal. Haseena, without any
evidence, hints at a certain country having its eye set on the St. Martin island. She commented:
“…They will carve out a Christian country, taking parts of Bangladesh (Chattogram) and
Myanmar with a base in the Bay of Bengal.”
Located near the maritime borders of Bangladesh and Myanmar, the island is significant
economically because of tourism and sovereign rights of the country.

Spratly Islands

The conflict involves China, Taiwan, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
Control over the island will empower China with absolute maritime dominance in the boundaries
of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam, thus hurting Indian growing defense ties in the South East.

Kuril Islands

Located in the Russian Far East, the island faces regular tussles. In the Second World War, the Union won Kuril and hence claimed its rightful ownership, finding its legal background in the Yalta Agreement. In March 2022, Medvedev said: “Obviously, we would never have found any consensus with Japan on the island issue…’.

Sri Lanka

Hambantota port, Sri Lanka’s second-largest port, has Chinese heritage; the country is a
significant part of China’s string of pearls theory to encircle India. Only if India paid that much
attention to Kautilya’s Rajamandala theory, we could counter easily. China has many countries
in its debt trap like Kenya, Zambia, Laos, Sri Lanka, being one of them. Its proximity to Indian
borders and a constant fisherman issue will give China many opportunities to meddle with India.

Why does this matter to the Indo Pacific?

India has maintained neutrality in respect of China, Taiwan, and St. Martin, has assumed
significant position due proximity to India. The USA’s perceived presence nearby, is a threat. A
few years ago, the USA violated our maritime borders, post-Biden’s elections.

The Kuril Islands are important because it will be a display of India balancing US and Japan on one hand and Russia and China on the other. Spratly because it will give India access to the far south-east in the South China Sea, which the country despises.
On a closing note, such conflicts over sovereignty invite foreign players; even in the regional
arena, they display regional hegemony, of which India is a capable contender. However, in order
to maintain a safe and peaceful neighborhood, India must keep its sovereignty intact while not
playing an active part in others’ battles unless called for. Brave is he who survives another day
on the battlefield.