From Jakarta to Wellington: Modi's Indo-Pacific arc
Live Events as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Addas a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our (You
Live Events as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Addas a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel One of the characteristics of an atomized world is that nations are busy pursuing their interests in different ways. China is busy tightening its grip around India. Pakistan is busy creating a multi-purpose Sunni Muslim alliance on its west. The US is busy dismantling the post 1945 world order. India is busy too, building relationships with countries cutting across geography and erstwhile alliances.India's simultaneous reality as a rimland state of the Eurasian landmass and littoral nation astride the Indian Ocean was understood by India's ancient empires and kingdoms well before latter day Indo-Pacificists were born. In recent years, India's ability to wrap its continental and maritime persona around its head has manifested in the successful pursuit of a multi-vector foreign policy. Against this background, the last few days and those ahead can be seen as constituting India's turn to the maritime theatre, covering the arc from Seychelles in the western Indian Ocean to Japan in the Pacific to Indonesia and Australia in the eastern Indian Ocean and New Zealand in the South Pacific.The arc is not accidental. This foreign policy blitz by India involves carefully chosen countries, with all of whom we have substantive ties.
More importantly, these are all countries that share the vision of a multipolar Asia with India. They believe this is the time to strengthen autonomy and buy insurance against domination by a single power, before it is too late. It is not India alone which feels threatened or feels the need to hedge against regional hegemony and global uncertainty. The story repeats itself in different ways with Japan, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand. These are countries that want to preserve their strategic space and economic and technological sovereignty. This has acquired particular urgency after the US review of its Indo-Pacific policy and altruism towards China.With the largest Armed Forces in the Indo-Pacific, the largest market, largest repository of skills, largest consumer of raw materials and energy and fastest growing economy, India is an indispensable power for countries of the region. Its functioning democracy and open, transparent and stable political system further enhances its appeal in the region. India's partnerships with each of the countries being visited by Prime Minister Modi next week get their ballast from each of the above attributes. They put the partnerships on a natural growth path and make them durable, resilient and non-threatening.The importance of Indonesia for India is such that it can be said that more is less. The complementarities between India and Indonesia are far deeper than is commonly known.
The BriefWire