The direct military confrontation between Israel and Iran in June 2025 marked a strategic turning point in maritime security. Beyond the immediate tactical exchange, it revealed Tehran's growing ambition to exploit "fragile and weakly governed spaces" in the Horn of Africa as platforms for indirect pressure and forward positioning against Israel.
In response to this evolving threat, Israeli recognition of Somaliland should not be viewed as a narrow diplomatic gesture, but as a central component in a broader "rewiring" of regional maritime order.
Somaliland has emerged as a "laboratory of informal order," a testing ground for a new form of maritime statecraft, where technology replaces the need for expensive and permanent military bases. While actors such as China and Turkey rely on models of debt-financed infrastructure and permanent military facilities, Israel and India are advancing an alternative model that privileges "functionality over formal alignment."
The technological axis: Israeli "eyes" and Indian infrastructure
At the core of this partnership lies a synergy between India’s physical capacity and Israel’s digital edge. For India, Africa is a central component of its "maritime neighborhood" doctrine and its goal of reaching $5 billion in defense exports. Israel, in turn, provides the qualitative technological advantage that allows for a "flexible presence" below the threshold of formal alliance politics.
Core domains of maritime governance
The India-Israel partnership in Somaliland functions as a "laboratory of informal order," centering its maritime governance strategy on three primary capability domains.
The first domain, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), utilizes a sophisticated network of unmanned platforms, satellite integration, and sensors to provide real-time operational intelligence. While India contributes to the physical infrastructure and human capital, Israel provides the digital "eyes." This approach is specifically designed for states with vast exclusive economic zones (EEZs) but limited monitoring capacity, allowing for a low military footprint that avoids the political costs of formal basing.
Parallel to ISR is the focus on port security, which is foundational to any sustainable, blue-economy strategy. By integrating India’s physical infrastructure investments with Israel’s multi-layered cyber and physical security protocols, strategic ports like Berbera are transformed into protected, sovereign corridors rather than vulnerable chokepoints.
Complementing these technical systems is Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA), which synthesizes disparate data streams into a unified operational picture. This capability serves as a strategic multiplier, enhancing the ability to counter piracy, illegal fishing, and non-state threats. Ultimately, these integrated domains foster a state of "positive dependency.” In this framework, African partners rely on Indian-Israeli systems not as a result of coercion but as a functional necessity for the daily governance of their sovereign maritime spaces
The Ethiopian anchor: Securing the land-sea corridor
This strategy aligns directly with Ethiopia's national security imperatives, as Africa’s most populous landlocked state. Ethiopia's near-total reliance on Djibouti, which is increasingly under Chinese influence, severely constrains its strategic autonomy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Addis Ababa in December 2025, which elevated relations to a strategic partnership, underscored the importance of alternative maritime access.
The Berbera port in Somaliland provides Ethiopia with an outlet. By securing this corridor, the India-Israel axis weakens Chinese leverage, dilutes Turkish dominance, and embeds Ethiopian economic growth within a diversified and resilient security environment.
Sovereignty over bases: A 21st-century model
The Indian-Israeli model offers a stark alternative to the "base-centric" and debt-laden influence of China and Turkey. Instead of exporting security through heavy basing, this partnership emphasizes capacity building and interoperable systems adapted to local operational realities.
Somaliland demonstrates how middle powers can reshape regional security architectures by offering "resilience over control."
For Jerusalem, the continued use of "technological diplomacy" is essential in securing its interests along the critical corridor linking the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea.
This is not merely a diplomatic experiment; it is a potential template for Global South-led security governance, grounded in functionality and strategic innovation rather than overt power projection.