1 August 2024

India’s Indo-Pacific Strategic Outlook: Limitations and Opportunities

Kanchi Mathur

Over the last decade, India has become one of the most sought-after regional powers in the Indo-Pacific region. The country has embraced its role as a security provider of the Indian Ocean region and is a preferred diplomatic partner of emerging regional powers of Southeast Asia. A cornerstone of India’s strategic priorities in the Indo-Pacific is the relationship it shares with the United States. Being major defence partners, India and the US hope to use their long-term partnership to build a more integrated Indo-Pacific. As such this has made India a key linchpin in its latticework of allies and partners in the region. However, as India’s strategic and diplomatic responsibilities get more pronounced, there continue to be limitations with lingering challenges that threaten to slow down India’s plans.

India’s Strategic Outlook on the Indo-Pacific Region

In the Indo-Pacific region, there are three theatres of specific concern for India. First is the Northwest Indian Ocean region which includes the Gulf of Aden and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait in the Arabian Sea, Second is the Indonesian Archipelago which encloses the Straits of Malacca, Lombok, and Sunda, Third is the Southern African region whose waters merge into the Indian Ocean.

No comments: