The Quad in the Western Indian Ocean Region

Published January 10, 2024.

Executive Summary

The Western Indian Ocean Region (WIOR) sub-region has emerged as an important strategic space for various actors, most importantly China. The Quad’s maritime security mandate involves a policy focus on the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), working towards deepening maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, building a maritime rules-based order, and combating illicit maritime activities in the region.

As a group looking to find ground in the IOR, the Quad should invest its capital and resources towards the WIOR and subsume this focus under its maritime security domain. This discussion document examines two prominent challenges in the WIOR: Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing (IUU) and maritime terrorism. It provides policy recommendations regarding how the Quad may aid efforts towards mitigating these challenges.

The Quad can help aid efforts towards meeting the IUU challenge by strengthening legislative frameworks concerning combatting IUU, bolstering regional maritime surveillance networks, and building institutional connections with IOR organisations. Maritime terrorism, particularly drug smuggling and piracy, can be tackled by focusing on the implementation of key legal instruments and frameworks, and aiding capacities of WIOR countries.

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