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India has proposed the SHANTI (Securing Holistic Advancement through Norms, Trust and Integrity) framework while launching its candidature for the UN Security Council (UNSC) non-permanent seat (2028–29). The framework envisions the Bay of Bengal as the pilot region for promoting norms-based maritime governance before expanding across the wider Indo-Pacific.

What is the SHANTI Framework?

• SHANTI (Securing Holistic Advancement through Norms, Trust and Integrity) is India's proposed norms-based maritime governance framework aimed at strengthening cooperation in shared maritime spaces.
• It builds upon India's earlier maritime initiatives—SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) launched in 2015 and MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions) announced in 2025.
• While SAGAR articulated India's maritime vision and MAHASAGAR expanded it to the wider Indo-Pacific and Global South, SHANTI seeks to operationalise this vision through practical cooperation based on Norms, Trust, and Integrity.

Significance

SHANTI marks India's transition from a security-centric maritime approach to one focused on rules-based governance of shared maritime commons. It seeks to position India as a preferred security partner and first responder, strengthen BIMSTEC, enhance Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA), promote the Blue Economy, and improve cooperation against both traditional and non-traditional maritime threats.

The framework also supports India's broader vision of a free, open, inclusive, and resilient Indo-Pacific.

Why is the Bay of Bengal the Ideal Pilot Region?

• The Bay of Bengal offers a relatively stable maritime environment compared to other parts of the Indian Ocean, making it suitable for building trust-based regional cooperation.
• It lies at the intersection of India's Act East Policy and the Indo-Pacific, while guarding the western approaches to the Strait of Malacca, one of the world's busiest maritime chokepoints.
• The region also faces common challenges such as cyclones, climate change, Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, marine pollution, disaster management, and transnational crimes, making cooperative governance essential.
• Existing regional initiatives such as BIMSTEC, the Colombo Security Conclave, connectivity projects, defence cooperation, and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) mechanisms provide a strong institutional foundation for implementing SHANTI.

Challenges

Operationalising SHANTI will require addressing geopolitical competition, particularly China's expanding maritime presence in the Bay of Bengal and political instability in Myanmar.

Other challenges include fragmented regional connectivity, inadequate maritime infrastructure, financing gaps, institutional weaknesses within regional organisations, trust deficits among smaller neighbours, and increasing environmental pressures arising from climate change and marine resource depletion.

Way Forward

India should strengthen Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) through the Information Fusion Centre–Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR), promote implementation of the BIMSTEC Maritime Transport Cooperation Agreement (MTCA), harmonise maritime regulations, and expand Blue Economy cooperation.

Building transparent and inclusive regional institutions, enhancing HADR coordination, improving coastal resilience, and leveraging technology for maritime surveillance will help translate the SHANTI framework into an effective regional governance model.