{"id":47157,"date":"2026-11-03T11:47:29","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T07:47:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/?p=47157"},"modified":"2026-11-03T11:47:29","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T07:47:29","slug":"mauritius-let-us-be-firm-in-our-principles-and-purposeful-in-our-diplomacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/mauritius-let-us-be-firm-in-our-principles-and-purposeful-in-our-diplomacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Mauritius: Let Us Be Firm in Our Principles and Purposeful in Our Diplomacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

International Relations<\/u><\/span><\/p>\n

By Vijay Makhan<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In an unsettled world, small states cannot command events. They can, however, define their interests, prepare for change and use diplomacy to widen the choices available to them.<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The international order is passing through a period of profound uncertainty. Great-power rivalry has returned, and competition now extends well beyond military strength. Trade, technology, energy, finance, communications and maritime routes have all become instruments of influence. Multilateral institutions remain indispensable, but their authority is repeatedly tested when powerful states decide that rules are inconvenient.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

For smaller countries, the consequences are immediate. A crisis far from our shores affects fuel prices, food supplies, shipping costs or the security of essential communications. Climate change adds another layer of exposure. We cannot insulate ourselves from every external shock. But neither should we assume that our size leaves us without choices.<\/span><\/p>\n

Vulnerability is a condition to be managed; it must not become a definition of our place in the world. Small states may lack the economic or military weight of larger countries, but they possess other instruments. They can establish clear national interests, build coalitions, work through regional organisations and invoke international law. None of these, however, guarantees success. But, used with preparation and consistency, they can give a small state greater room to manoeuvre.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is not an abstract proposition for me. During my years in diplomacy, including specifically when I led the OAU\/AU delegations at the WTO Ministerials in Seattle in 1999 and Cancun in 2003, I mobilised our member states to concert and witnessed how countries with limited individual weight could influence negotiations by acting together. African countries, the ACP and the least developed countries could not match the economic power of the largest trading nations. But they could coordinate. At Cancun, the G90 gave collective expression to the view that development could not be treated as an afterthought. Coalition-building did not remove disparities of power; it helped change the terms of discussion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mauritius has the necessary experience on which to build. Our connections with Africa and Asia, our participation in regional organisations and our engagement with the wider Indian Ocean provide us diplomatic reach. These links are assets but only when used with purpose. Membership of institutions must be matched by sustained work to build partnerships, identify common interests and ensure that our voice is heard where decisions affecting us are being shaped.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our geography, too, calls for a wider national outlook. Mauritius is not only an island economy. Our maritime domain extends across a space far greater than our land territory. That ocean offers possibilities in marine science, renewable energy and the sustainable use of resources. But it also brings responsibilities \u2014 protecting biodiversity, strengthening maritime surveillance and cooperating against illegal activity at sea.<\/span><\/p>\n

The perseverance Mauritius has displayed on Chagos, though we are yet to savour the fruits thereof, shows that a small state, guided by principle and sustained diplomatic effort, need not accept that power alone determines an outcome.<\/span><\/p>\n

But agency requires more than the ability to respond to individual events. It requires careful and well-thought-out preparation \u2014 clear priorities, capable institutions and a national understanding of how our interests in diplomacy, security and economic development connect. This is why I have proposed a ten-year strategic roadmap in my latest book: Geopolitics of the Indian Ocean.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The roadmap is not a rigid programme for any government to adopt unchanged. It offers options across several sectors and a framework for thinking beyond the immediate pressures of the day. Its purpose is to connect choices too often treated separately\u2014 maritime surveillance with regional cooperation; ocean policy with scientific research; education with the skills needed for a blue economy; and energy, food, transport and communications resilience with our wider diplomatic positioning.<\/span><\/p>\n

A recent article by Kate Sullivan de Estrada, \u201cIsland State Agency as \u2018Project Enactment\u2019: The Regional Maritime Security Architecture of the Western Indian Ocean,\u201d<\/em> offers a timely echo of this approach. It examines how island states exercise agency through regionally conceived projects and cooperation, rather than being viewed only in relation to the ambitions of major powers. Her study of the regional maritime security architecture gives practical expression to the value of countries working together around shared interests.<\/span><\/p>\n

The roadmap I propose seeks to carry that understanding into the practical choices Mauritius must make over the coming decade. We should also make better use of expertise already available within the country. Government, universities, research institutions and the private sector each hold knowledge relevant to our future positioning. Greater coordination among them would help us assess developments earlier, negotiate from a stronger base and maintain continuity in our strategic thinking.<\/span><\/p>\n

Purposeful diplomacy does not mean alignment with one power or withdrawal from the world. It means retaining the capacity to judge each issue on its merits, to broaden our partnerships and to cooperate where our interests converge. It means being clear about our principles while remaining practical about the means by which we advance them.<\/span><\/p>\n

The decade ahead will test Mauritius in ways no country can meet alone. Our task is to prepare, to work with others and to act with consistency. We may not control the forces reshaping the international order, but we can strengthen our ability to navigate them. Let us be firm in our principles and purposeful in our diplomacy. We must think like an ocean state, rather than merely an island economy.<\/span><\/p>\n

28 October 2026<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 30 October 2026<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

International Relations<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":47158,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[28],"tags":[39732,17943,63447,164,1360,44600,12336,63450,7612,59601,60277,866,20419,50503,63448,58008,119,36,56302,46367,63449,58168,487,58884,63119,1077,63446],"class_list":["post-47157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-affairs","tag-african-countries","tag-blue-economy","tag-cancun","tag-chagos","tag-climate-change","tag-coalition-building","tag-diplomacy","tag-diplomatic-partnerships","tag-economic-development","tag-g90","tag-great-power-rivalry","tag-indian-ocean","tag-international-law","tag-international-order","tag-maritime-domain","tag-maritime-surveillance","tag-mauritius","tag-mauritius-times","tag-multilateral-institutions","tag-national-interests","tag-ocean-policy","tag-regional-organisations","tag-renewable-energy","tag-small-states","tag-strategic-roadmap","tag-vijay-makhan","tag-wto-ministerials"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8QzSF-cgB","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Our-Diplomacy-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47157"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47159,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47157\/revisions\/47159"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}