China fears spark Indian race for cobalt in contested ocean waters

India has sought rights to explore an underwater cobalt-rich mountain. But Sri Lanka also has eyes on the region.

India is scrambling to secure rights to explore a cobalt-rich underwater mountain in the middle of the Indian Ocean but its bid has come up against competing claims at a time when Sri Lanka, too, is looking to mine the region for precious minerals.

The urgency behind India’s application comes from fears over China’s presence in the Indian Ocean, at a time when the world’s second-largest economy already dominates the global cobalt supply chain, Indian officials and analysts told Al Jazeera.

Cobalt is a critical mineral widely used in electric vehicles and batteries and is seen as a vital element in the green energy transition.

In January, India had approached the Jamaica-based International Seabed Authority, seeking approval to explore the cobalt-rich Afanasy Nikitin Seamount, which is in the central Indian Ocean, east of the Maldives and about 1,350 km (850 miles) from the Indian coast. Formed in 1994, the ISA is an autonomous international organisation mandated by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to regulate economic activity on the seabed.

India also paid a $500,000 fee to the ISA to consider its application, in which it spelled out its desire to conduct extensive geophysical, geological, biological, oceanographic and environmental studies in the proposed area over 15 years. The seamount consists of 150 blocks spread over 3,000sq km (1,158 sq miles).