Analysis Of Sansad TV Discussion
”India’s Indo-Pacific Vision”

Relevance

”GS 2: India and its Neighbourhood, Groupings & Agreements Involving India and/or Affecting India’s Interests”

Context

US President Joe Biden’s recent Indo-Pacific strategy document gives a clear indication of the value the US places on its strategic partnership with India and its vision for New Delhi to play a central role in this vital region that is increasingly subject to Chinese aggression and coercion.

About Indo-Pacific

• The Indo-Pacific region is a vast maritime zone where the interests of many players are engaged: India, Japan, France, and the United States, as well as medium and smaller powers like Australia, Indonesia, and South Africa; there are stakeholders from beyond the region, too.
• In recent years, uncertainty has heightened in the region owing to China’s territorial expansionist agenda, concerns for the United States’ long-term commitment to Asia, as well as the limitations of existing multilateral institutions.
• A large part of global trade flows through the Indian Ocean Region. A significant portion of our trade and energy needs are met through the oceans. Safety of the seas and of the maritime commons, therefore, remains a critical requirement.
• The importance of the Indo-Pacific region to global GDP and maritime trade reflects a shift in the world economic centre of gravity to the Indo-Pacific.
• Indeed, the Indo-Pacific is emerging as the new and expanded theatre of great-power contestation.

India’s Indo-Pacific strategy

• It walks on two legs — strengthening its national engagement with the region, and stronger partnerships with like-minded nations.
• The former elevates India’s salience in the Indo-Pacific and raises Delhi’s value for its partners.
• Coalitions and partnerships, in turn, help boost India’s national capabilities, and enhance its reach and impact.
• This approach is quite different from the metaphysics of the past that focused on the presumed need to hold up a particular ideology rather than a hard-headed pursuit of national interests.

India’s Engagement with the Indo-Pacific

• India’s engagement with the Indo-Pacific goes back several centuries.
• India has been championing the Free and Open Indo-Pacific(FOIP) idea and initiating forums like the Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) and the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI).
• India engages with its Indo-Pacific partners either bilaterally, or on plurilateral and multilateral platforms, in a multitude of spheres including maritime security, Blue Economy, maritime connectivity, disaster management, and capacity building.
• Strengthening engagement with the region, and stronger partnerships can enhance India’s reach and impact.

About the Indo-Pacific Maritime Cooperation

• The major focus of the Indo-Pacific is based on oceans, which is the common thread that connects all.
• Countries including India, Indonesia, Singapore, and Sri Lanka, primarily maritime nations occupy the most important strategic positions in the Indian Ocean.
• To promote its strategic interests in the Indian Ocean, India launched the Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR vision) in 2015.
• The Indian government believes in an Indo-Pacific that is free, open and inclusive, and one that is founded upon a cooperative and collaborative rules-based order.

About the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative

The Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI), announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 14th East Asia Summit on 4 November 2019 at Bangkok, has seven pillars:

• Maritime Ecology
• Maritime Security
• Marine Resources
• Capacity Building and Resource Sharing
• Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
• Science, Technology and Academic Cooperation
• Trade, Connectivity and Maritime Transport.