ISAS Briefs

On 22 June 2018, President Danny Faure of the Seychelles arrived in India for a six-day state visit. In a press statement welcoming the President, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a US$100 million (S$136.4 million) line of credit to the Seychelles for the purchase of military hardware from India so as to improve the country’s maritime capacity. He also stated that they would work together on the Assumption Island project, “keeping in mind each other’s interest in this regard”. 1 The latter part of the announcement, referring to India’s role in a stalled project to develop facilities on the island, caught many by surprise. It marks the latest twist in a story about India’s growing maritime ambition and the interlocking of domestic and global geopolitics in the Indian Ocean.