+91-8595390705

India’s Indo-Pacific strategy

03 Dec 2022 India’s Indo-Pacific strategy

Posted at 13:17h in Daily current-affairs by
0 Likes

Significance for Prelims: Not Much

Significance for Mains: Indo-Pacific strategy; and how it will help India’s Eastern and North Eastern states. 

News: India is going through a new Indo-Pacific policy and strategy phase. But, the interpretation of the ‘Indo-Pacific’ policy by the national capital may differ from the perceptions of this policy in Northeastern and eastern India. Key takeaways from various policy conclaves show that Indo-Pacific can deliver better results if stakeholders’ perspectives at the ground level are absorbed in the Indo-Pacific policy. 

Fundamental issues associated with  Northeastern and eastern India:

  • To ensure adequate security, 
  • Speed up economic development, 
  • Connect better with the rest of India and select South Asian and Southeast Asian nations. 

Improvements in East due to Indo-Pacific Policy: Northeast comprises seven ‘sisters’ or States and one ‘brother’, Sikkim.

  • Better security conditions and development led to the transformation of Sikkim.
  • Policy conversations in Manipur helped in clarifying local needs and priorities. 
  • Kolkata views the Indo-Pacific from the lens of culture.
  • Improvement in security conditions of Manipur 

Issues associated with East and North East India:

  • North-Eastern regions face smuggling, drug trafficking, transnational border crime and insurgent activity from border areas. 
  • Serious non-traditional threats are the influx of refugees from Myanmar. 
  • China is a ‘constant player’ in the disturbance of the North-Eastern region. So necessitated vigilance and strict action by security agencies like Assam Rifles. 
  • Insensitive handling of lawful exchanges with neighbouring countries. 

Way forward: Concentrate on Economic Development

  • Address core issues behind the insurgency substantially and accelerate development.
  • Improvement in roads connecting northeastern towns and cities.
  • Creation of jobs for graduates produced by local universities.
  • Promotion of Manipur as a medical tourism hub for other Indian States, Myanmar, and Bangladesh. 
  • Expansion of research and development facilities to leverage the region’s biodiversity. 
  • Indian corporates and foreign investors should increase investment for better management of accelerated development.
  • Effective and people-sensitive border management. 

Conclusion: India is now in the Indo-Pacific policy and strategy phase after the ‘Look East’ and ‘Act East’ policies.  Countries should expand people-related cooperation for broader acceptance of the Indo-Pacific and consolidation of the Quad.

Views of Scholars on Indo-Pacific:

  • Md. Shahidul Haque (former Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh)  says neighbours should focus on “the geo-cultural dimension” of the Indo-Pacific, moving beyond geopolitics and geo-economics. 
  • Melinda Pavek (U.S. Consul General) projected the U.S. as “a proud Indo-Pacific nation,”. To face future challenges, Indo-Pacific countries should fortify historical and geographic ties. 

Future trends are emerging in Indo-Pacific:

  • The growing significance of the Bay of Bengal region.  
  • The increasing importance of the Concept of the Indo-Pacific when it goes beyond the outer circle of the Bay of Bengal and its littorals.
  • To enhance the effectiveness of the Indo-Pacific, member-states need to invest more in the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).
  • India should hear the voices of Northeast and eastern India’s proper implementation of the Indo-Pacific strategy. 
  • India should go beyond ‘Look East’ and ‘Act East’ to  ‘Think and Relate East’. 

Further readings:

  1. India’s Act East and Look East policy.

Mains( 2020):

  1. What is the significance of Indo-US defence deals over Indo-Russian defence deals? Discuss with reference to stability in the Indo-Pacific region

Source: The Hindu

Article: Connecting India’s East with the Indo-Pacific.

Article Link: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/connecting-indias-east-with-the-indo-pacific/article66215378.ece 

Yojna IAS Daily current affairs eng med 3rd Dec

 

No Comments

Post A Comment