The US Department of Defence has restored the name of the US Indo-Pacific Command to the US Pacific Command, reversing an eight-year-old decision. This change honours the command's deep historical roots, established in 1947, while its vast area of responsibility, extending to India's western border, and its mission remain unchanged.
The Quad grouping has expanded cooperation in critical minerals and energy, while unveiling new measures to boost maritime surveillance and port infrastructure across the Indo-Pacific. This move comes against the backdrop of China's growing military posturing in the region, with ministers reiterating strong opposition to destabilising actions and expressing serious concerns over militarisation of disputed features.
The economic fallout of the West Asia crisis, the prevailing security situation in the Indo-Pacific and ways to boost cooperation in critical minerals and technology are expected to top the agenda at a crucial meeting of the Quad foreign ministers on Tuesday.
A senior US official has emphasised India's crucial role in maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and ensuring a balanced power dynamic in Asia, advocating for stronger defence ties between the two nations.
Admiral Samuel J Paparo, Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, lauded India's military restraint during Operation Sindoor and emphasized the growing India-US defence partnership aimed at maintaining peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region.
In the Indo-Pacific's new era -- where perception shapes reality faster than treaties -- the real entrapment is not of China or the United States. It is the test Japan has set for itself -- and whether partners like India, acting as balancers rather than accelerants, can help ensure that the story ends in stability, points out Varun Arya.
'We condemn recent illicit missile launches in the region that violate UN Security Council resolutions. We express serious concern over recent dangerous and aggressive actions in the maritime domain. We seek a region where no country dominates and no country is dominated one where all countries are free from coercion, and can exercise their agency to determine their futures,' the declaration said.
The Japanese PM's visit to Assam comes amid festering uneasiness in Tokyo about Beijing's assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.
Singh emphasised that the Indo-Pacific is no more a maritime construct, but a full-fledged geo-strategic issue, and that the region is facing "a complex web" of security challenges, including boundary disputes and piracy.
The latest announcement was made by the US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis during the change of guard ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbour wherein Admiral Phil Davidson replaced Admiral Harry Harris as Commander, US Indo-Pacific Command or IndoPacom.
Although the pact would focus mainly on the Pacific and the South China Sea region, any action designed to deter China with or without New Delhi's active participation is a welcome move, notes Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
'No Cold War should be reignited and no Ukraine-style crisis should be repeated in Asia'
Vietnam is an emerging regional power and a closer relationship with Hanoi is closely aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Act East Policy, points out Dr Rajaram Panda.
India is increasingly a willing participant in the evolving US' Indo-Pacific strategy. While these developments are related to the perception of a growing Chinese security challenge, their implications for India's much-vaunted strategic autonomy should be a matter of deeper and closer reflection, asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed various aspects of India-US bilateral ties, focusing on defence, trade, energy, and technology. Rubio extended an invitation from President Donald Trump for PM Modi to visit the US.
In their first summit, the leaders of Quad countries on Friday decided to launch a mega vaccine initiative under which coronavirus vaccines will be produced in India for the Indo-Pacific region with financial assistance from the United States and Japan while Australia will contribute in logistical aspects.
Four-nation grouping Quad on Tuesday launched a major new initiative for the Indo-Pacific that allows the partner countries to fully monitor the waters on their shores and help ensure peace and stability in the region, a move that comes amid China's increasingly intimidatory behaviour.
This includes over $15 billion of proposed investment in the infrastructure sector in the Indo-Pacific and $9 billion for shoring up American defence in the region.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for the resolution of the West Asia crisis and the Ukraine conflict through dialogue and diplomacy, asserting that military action alone cannot achieve lasting peace. He made the remarks after talks with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store.
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth praised India's military modernisation efforts at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, highlighting its growing industrial and logistics capacity.
In a region increasingly shaped by competition and coercion, such collaboration strengthens security without confrontation, builds capacity without dependency and promotes order without domination, points out Dr Kumar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has met his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison in Washington, DC, ahead of the first in-person Quad meeting to be hosted by US President Joe Biden and discussed a broad range of issues of bilateral, regional and global importance, including the Indo-Pacific.
The US "Indo-Pacific Strategy" is bound to be a failed strategy, Wang said in the comments posted by the Chinese foreign ministry on its website.
The meeting to be presided over by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be attended by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Australia's Penny Wong.
Experts' worries intensified after Pakistan commissioned its first Chinese-built Hangor-class submarine, PNS Hangor, last month.
India would confront a more entrenched China, a less dependable United States, and a regional order increasingly shaped by great-power bargaining over which it exercises limited influence, notes Amberish K Diwanji.
Morrison said ways to deepen bilateral trade and investment ties and harness new economic opportunities to support mutual economic recovery and growth will also be discussed at the summit.
The Quad has come of age and its agenda covering areas like vaccines, climate change and emerging technologies makes it a force for global good, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the first summit of the coalition. In his opening remarks, he also talked about shared values and promoting a secure, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific.
Successful interceptor, anti-ship, MIRV and hypersonic technology tests have strengthened India's position among a select group of advanced missile powers.
India's historical focus on its continental borders has overshadowed its maritime ambitions, but that is changing quickly, notes Ajai Shukla.
The foreign ministers of the Quad grouping of India, the US, Australia and Japan on Friday held extensive talks in Melbourne amid escalating tension between Russia and NATO countries over Ukraine, the Afghan crisis and increasing concerns over China's "coercion" in the Indo-Pacific region.
India and the US are reportedly exploring a potential meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France next week, aiming to rebuild bilateral ties after recent tensions.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday discussed issues relating to Afghanistan and the Indo-Pacific during his bilateral meetings with global counterparts on the sidelines of the annual high-level UN General Assembly session.
The Indian armed forces, especially the Navy, are building partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region for peace and security, as well as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, he said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit India from May 23-26 to enhance cooperation in trade, defence, and energy, attending meetings with senior Indian officials and participating in a Quad group meeting in New Delhi.
Asserting that "maritime muscle flexing" by some countries and other factors have made the Indo-Pacific region "more contested and more volatile," naval chief Admiral Sunil Lanba on Tuesday said that the Indian Navy has its task cut out as it has been a major security provider in the region.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Phnom Penh on Sunday and discussed bilateral ties, the raging Ukraine conflict, energy issues, G20 and the situation in the Indo-Pacific, days ahead of a possible meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden.
A new report indicates India has become the world's fifth most digitalised economy and ranks fourth globally in AI performance, driven by increasing AI adoption and a strong digital infrastructure.
He said he will be visiting Tokyo at the invitation of his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida, and noted that in March 2022, he had hosted Kishida for the 14th India-Japan Annual Summit.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump exchanged pleasantries and held a brief conversation at the G7 summit, their first in-person encounter in 16 months, setting the stage for high-stakes bilateral talks amidst continuing strain in India-US relations.
