India seeks a more 'vibrant' Colombo Security Conclave as China looms

The government has increased efforts to set up a permanent secretariat of the Colombo Security Conclave (CSC) in the Sri Lankan capital, as competitive regionalism between India and China gets edgier in the Indian Ocean Region, and the security of Indo-Pacific sea lanes becomes ever more pivotal amid the West Asia conflict. 

 

Member countries have also agreed to a Secretary General-led structure and appointed former Vice Chief of Naval Staff Satishkumar Namdeo Ghormade for the post. The CSC has the potential to emerge as the pre-eminent maritime security forum in the region.

 

The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), and the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) have fallen short of their founding objectives. This is because the IORA lacks a security mandate and the IONS has almost three dozen members and dialogue partners and a consensus building approach. 

 

Beijing has convened the China-Indian Ocean Forum since 2021. India is not a member of the forum.

 

India has, therefore, pushed for a more vibrant CSC. The Conclave is a more focussed six-member grouping of countries in close geographical proximity, with maritime security as its key agenda. Its members are India, the Maldives, Bangladesh, Seychelles, Mauritius and Sri Lanka.

 

Founded in 2011 and reshaped in 2020, the CSC was formed to promote closer cooperation between member states on vital matters of security in the Indian Ocean region. On April 19, India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced that the CSC would be granted the status of an international organisation. The member countries had agreed to set up the permanent secretariat in 2024. 

 

The grouping is driven by national security advisors (NSAs) of member countries. India’s NSA Ajit Kumar Doval hosted the seventh meeting of the NSAs on November 20, 2025, with Malaysia invited as a guest country. Maritime security, countering terrorism, combatting organised crime, cyber security and protection of critical infrastructure were among discussion points of the meeting, along with a roadmap and action plan for 2026. 

 

India is a net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region under the CSC. In recent months, it has provided the Maldives, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Mauritius maritime security equipment. 

 

The security in the Indo-Pacific is likely to be a key agenda during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visits to Indonesia, New Zealand and Australia next month. 

 

India has sought to reenergise the IONS, which held its ninth conclave in February in Visakhapatnam in February 2026, where chiefs of navies and heads of maritime security agencies of 33 countries of its member states participated. They discussed strengthening maritime cooperation and security in the Indian Ocean Region. The Indian Navy assumed the chairmanship of the IONC, marking India’s return to the helm after 16 years. It had earlier held the inaugural chairmanship from 2008 to 10. 

 

New Delhi continues to focus on its expansive Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions (MAHASAGAR) vision, which stresses integrated approach to maritime cooperation, security, and regional development.