EU-India defence pact reflects colonial-era resource extraction patterns, deepening militarised Indo-Pacific geopolitics

Indigenous maritime governance systems in the Indian Ocean and Pacific have sustained ecological balance and conflict mediation for centuries, using principles like *Ubuntu* (interdependence) and *Manaakitanga* (reciprocal care). These systems prioritise community-based resource management over state-centric militarisation, yet are entirely absent from the India-Germany pact. The agreement risks further marginalising traditional navigational knowledge, such as the *Arab navigational stars* or *Polynesian wayfinding*, which have guided trade and diplomacy for millennia.

The India-Germany defence pact echoes 19th-century Anglo-German naval rivalries in the Indian Ocean, where European powers carved out 'spheres of influence' under the guise of 'modernisation.' The 1885 Berlin Conference’s partition of Africa set a precedent for resource extraction through military alliances, a pattern now being replicated in the Indo-Pacific. The pact also revives colonial-era trade routes, where German firms like *BASF* and *Siemens* exploited Indian Ocean ports for raw materials, now repackaged as 'defence industrial cooperation.'

Cross-culturally, the pact reflects a clash between Euro-American 'hard security' paradigms and Indigenous systems that view the ocean as a living entity (*Moana Nui a Kiwa* in Polynesian cosmology, *Samudra* in Hindu philosophy). While European powers frame naval dominance as 'stability,' Pacific Islander leaders like *Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner* argue it disrupts traditional ecological knowledge and deepens climate vulnerability. The agreement also ignores the *ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific*, which prioritises dialogue and non-alignment over militarised blocs.

Scientifically, the pact’s focus on undersea fleet modernisation disregards the ecological impacts of naval expansion, including sonar pollution disrupting cetacean communication and deep-sea mining for rare earth minerals fueling biodiversity loss. Studies show that militarised shipping lanes contribute disproportionately to marine microplastic pollution, yet these costs are excluded from cost-benefit analyses. The agreement also lacks peer-reviewed assessments of how 'niche technologies' (e.g., AI-driven naval systems) may escalate conflict risks in already fragile ecosystems.

Artistically, the pact’s militarisation narrative clashes with Indigenous art forms that depict the ocean as a sacred entity, such as the *Lapita pottery* of Melanesia or the *Madhubani* maritime murals of Bihar. Spiritual traditions like *Sufi* poetry (e.g., Bulleh Shah’s verses on the Indus) and *Hawaiian* *Hula* chants frame the sea as a source of life, not a battleground. The agreement’s emphasis on 'niche technologies' also reflects a mechanistic worldview, contrasting with holistic Indigenous epistemologies that see technology as embedded in community and ecology.

Future modelling suggests the pact could trigger a regional arms race, with China, Japan, and Australia accelerating their own naval modernisation programs, destabilising the Indo-Pacific’s already fragile ecological and geopolitical balance. Scenario planning by the *Stockholm International Peace Research Institute* warns that 'defence industrial cooperation' often leads to over-reliance on arms exports, creating long-term dependencies and corruption risks. The pact also fails to account for climate-induced migration, which will likely increase maritime security threats in the coming decades.

Marginalised voices—including Pacific Islander activists, Indian Ocean coastal fishermen, and Dalit anti-militarisation groups—are entirely absent from the pact’s framing. Indigenous women leaders like *Leanne Betasamosake Simpson* (Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg) argue that militarisation exacerbates gender-based violence and displaces women from traditional livelihoods. The agreement also ignores the role of caste-based labour exploitation in India’s defence sector, where Dalit workers face hazardous conditions in shipbuilding and arms manufacturing.