Abstract
ELECTRONIC JOURNAL OF SOCIAL AND STRATEGIC STUDIES - Volume 2, Special Issue II, April 2021
Pages: 1-18
Assessing India’s Role in the Indo-Pacific’s ‘Great Game’
Jay Maniyar
Category:Strategic Studies
Abstract:
India’s vision/strategy of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region), and endeavours like Neighbourhood First, Act East Policy, and the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) find resonance in the strategies, guidelines, and policies of many like-minded nations. India seeks to pursue and place the Indo-Pacific Region (IPR) as a free, open, and inclusive region, based on the international rules-based order. While this may be seen as India seeking strategic parity vis-á-vis China, the approach will enhance mutually beneficial and rewarding ties with like-minded nations in the region and globally, and place India as a reliable power, friend, and partner.
India has portrayed all the characteristics of emerging as an Indo-Pacific maritime power. It is all but clear that if there is indeed an 'Indo-Pacific Great Game', India appears to have positioned itself at the forefront, from accepting the penetration of the term ‘Indo-Pacific’, and defining it in geographic terms. Through initiatives such as an endorsement of a free and open Indo-Pacific (to which India added 'inclusive') and the Prime Minister's Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) which is founded on several notable and necessary pillars, India has conveyed its Indo-Pacific inclinations to the region and the world.
The Paper aims to analyse how India will play out its endeavours in the Indo-Pacific's 'Great Game' to best serve its national interests, while retaining a focus on the inclusivity, stability, security, and peace of the IPR. The geopolitical, geo-economic, and geostrategic goals of India as a major player in the IPR may appear apparent in their definition and scope, but the methodology of achieving them is slowly unfolding, and the final result may be difficult to ascertain. The Paper will also aim to assess the static, dynamic, and interlinking factors that are cause for India's fillip into the 'Indo-Pacific's 'Great Game', and offer some conclusive thoughts to support India’s endeavours in the IPR.
Keywords: India, Indo-Pacific, Great Game, SAGAR, IPOI, Vision, Strategy, Doctrine, Indian Ocean Region, Pacific Ocean