Written by Rushali Saha
The Biden administration’s expansion of the geographic definition of the Indo-Pacific to include the entire Indian Ocean, while a positive first step, is merely a symbolic move unless complemented with concrete policy action.
Read MoreWritten by Phuong Mai Tran
Obviously, the EU must prioritise Europe’s defence. The important question here is whether its Indo-Pacific strategy would be affected as a result.
Read MoreWritten by Catherine Craven
For Britain, maintaining control over Indian Ocean Territory remains fundamental to its foreign, trade and migration policy interests — but also to its allies.
Read MoreWritten by Jefferson Ng
The Makassar Strait is likely to grow in prominence as Indonesia’s new capital emerges as a centre of economic activity alongside Jakarta, and defence policymakers in Indonesia will want to better control the flow of maritime traffic passing through the Strait.
Read MoreWritten by John Holthaus
The countries that make up the Quad should use the existing approved agreements — including strengthening their relationship through maritime logistics and ship repair — before China completes its planned expansion into the IOR.
Read MoreWritten by Bec Strating
Both the 2022 Cope North exercise and the Tonga example highlight concerns that hard and soft security are not so easily distinguishable.
Read MoreEven if Russia does not play a key role in the competition between the major powers of the Indo-Pacific right now, the country could become an indispensable partner in the future geopolitical constellations in this most significant geographical area.
Read MoreWritten by Andrea Caligiuri
Italy’s ‘non-strategy’ in the Indo-Pacific is partly conditioned by the fact that Rome does not want an open confrontation with China. Rather, it seeks a pragmatic approach with Beijing.
Read MoreChinese investment through the BRI is just part of the story, because if managed correctly, it is the first mover that unlocks greater investment from other powers and corporations, and leads to growth that ultimately helps countries pay their debts.
Read MoreWritten by Nilanthi Samaranayake
Outreach to address COVID-19 economic distress perpetuates the inaccurate perception that Sri Lanka is heavily indebted to China and is therefore prone to advancing Beijing’s geostrategic ambitions.
Read MoreWritten by Vuk Vuksanovic
Pakistan needs partners among great and regional powers concerned about the fate of Afghanistan. Russia, on the other hand, had to strengthen its diplomatic and market ties with non-Western countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America as a result of the Ukraine Crisis and worsening relations with the West.
Read MoreWritten by Bec Strating and Elizabeth Buchanan
Haphazard inclusion of the Southern Ocean and Antarctica to the Indo-Pacific construct will ultimately bolster Chinese efforts to undermine and erode the ‘rules-based order’ that all Indo-Pacific like-minded partners appear so committed to upholding.
Read MoreWritten by Michael Shurkin
Spurning France the way they have with the AUKUS deal, Australia, the US, and the UK have shut out an ally eager to enhance its role in Indo-Pacific security and do so in a manner that almost entirely coincided with American and Australian interests.
Read MoreWritten by Constantino Xavier and Nitika Nayar
As the region’s predominant power with a history of interventionism, India’s sub-national missions must be able to balance their sub-national outreach, especially to minority groups, with the security concerns of the host country’s central authorities.
Read MoreWritten by Ashley Townshend and Tom Corben
Transforming military exercises into collective deterrence operations will require the US, Australia, Japan and South Korea to double down on their strategic, military and technical coordination. This is a difficult path to tread even at the bilateral level. But it is vital to upholding the Indo-Pacific order.
Read MoreWritten by Olli Pekka Suorsa
Unlike the Royal Navy’s much larger destroyers, the OPVs can offer more opportunities for regional engagement, including participation in multinational training and exercises, capacity building activities, and showing flag. After all, ‘showing up’ is the ‘hot currency’ in Southeast Asia.
Read MoreWritten by Velina Tchakarova
It will be interesting to follow how China will navigate this playground, as Beijing is likely to be the next great power to try and fill the void. Perhaps that is exactly why the US is pulling out now — the move could possibly become an American trap if China enters the Afghan quagmire and fails.
Read MoreWritten by Jagannath Panda
India’s current and future plan to support, launch and take forward the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative with Australia and Japan points to New Delhi’s approach of building a stronger narrative that poses challenges to China’s economic moves and strategic motives.
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