Overview: On 13 July 2026, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar unveiled SHANTI while announcing India’s candidature for a non‑permanent seat on the UNSC for the 2028‑29 term. The policy seeks to turn the disaster‑prone Bay of Bengal into a laboratory for norms‑based maritime cooperation.
Key Developments
- Launch of SHANTI as a normative framework for shared maritime spaces.
- Positioning the Bay of Bengal as a test‑bed before extending the model to the wider Indo‑Pacific.
- Adoption of common maritime law‑enforcement and humanitarian assistance principles by BIMSTEC National Security Advisers in New Delhi.
- Agreement to hold the first joint BIMSTEC maritime security exercise in the Bay in November 2026.
- Ongoing negotiations for a white‑shipping information‑sharing agreement among BIMSTEC members.
Important Facts
The evolution of India’s maritime outreach follows a clear trajectory: SAGAR (2015) set the vision of equitable development; MAHASAGAR (2025) broadened the scope to include vertical and horizontal security linkages; and now SHANTI provides the operational grammar – norms, trust and integrity – for cooperation.
The Bay’s strategic geography links India’s Act‑East policy with ASEAN, offers access to the vital Malacca Strait, and connects eastern Indian Ocean trade routes. China’s dependence on the strait has spurred its infrastructure push, raising geopolitical competition. Yet, unlike the conflict‑prone western Indian Ocean, the Bay’s shared challenges – cyclones, fisheries, undersea cables, and port resilience – encourage cooperative solutions.
Exam Relevance
Understanding SHANTI helps answer GS‑2 questions on India’s maritime strategy, regional cooperation, and the role of norms in security. The link between SAGAR, MAHASAGAR and SHANTI illustrates policy continuity, a key theme in essay writing. The Bay of Bengal’s disaster‑prone nature ties into GS‑1 (Geography) and GS‑3 (Economy) topics on climate vulnerability, blue economy, and maritime trade.
Way Forward
For BIMSTEC and other regional bodies, the next steps include:
- Formalising the white‑shipping information‑sharing protocol.
- Scaling up joint disaster‑response drills beyond November 2026.
- Creating a permanent Bay of Bengal coordination mechanism under the SHANTI umbrella.
- Linking maritime security exercises with blue‑economy initiatives such as sustainable fisheries and undersea cable protection.
By embedding norms, trust and integrity into maritime cooperation, India aims to shift from deterrence‑based security to resilience‑based governance, positioning itself as the “preferred security partner” and “first responder” in the Bay of Bengal and, eventually, the broader Indo‑Pacific.