The Biden administration has further reinforced and strengthened US strategic priorities towards the Indo-Pacific, a decade after the ‘Pivot to Asia’ by the Obama administration.
Eastwards Ho? India’s Relations with the Indo-Pacific edited by E. Sridharan comprising 15 essays by renowned experts on Asian geopolitics, seeks to place India on the strategic map of the evolving Indo-Pacific region as an economic and geopolitical power. At the outset, the editor provides a succinct overview of economic integration in Asia, particularly of China with its neighbours reflected in a massive increase in bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements (FTAs).
The new Labor Party government in Australia is likely to show continuity on AUKUS and Quad initiatives in the Indo-Pacific, while policy approaches on Pacific Islands and China, as also on climate change, may get a re-look.
Japan is likely to play a decisive role in positioning Northeast India as a powerhouse through improved connectivity, opening up trade corridors and driving better economic integration.
Ensuring maritime security and freedom of navigation in the Indian Ocean and the wider Indo-Pacific region is key security imperative and one of the key objectives of India’s engagement with the US and other partners.
A Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and the Philippines would be fruitful in not only strengthening the bilateral relations between the two, but also in adding heft to the security architecture of the Indo-Pacific.
