"India's Assertive Indo-Pacific Posture: Maritime Power and Strategic Partnerships"
Act East Policy
India's 2014 rebranding of Look East Policy, shifting from trade to proactive strategic and security partnerships with ASEAN and the wider Indo-Pacific.
Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue)
Security grouping of India, USA, Australia, Japan; revived 2017, elevated to leaders' level 2021; covers maritime security, technology, supply chains.
India's engagement with the Indo-Pacific has evolved through three distinct phases. The Look East Policy (1991) was launched in the context of economic liberalisation, primarily to integrate India with Southeast Asian economies through trade and investment. It was rebranded as the Act East Policy in 2014, signalling a qualitative shift from passive commercial engagement to proactive strategic, security, and connectivity partnerships — broadening India's ambit to include ASEAN, East Asia, Pacific Island nations, and the wider maritime domain stretching from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific.
The term 'Indo-Pacific' itself entered formal strategic discourse when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in his 'confluence of two seas' address to the Indian Parliament in 2007, first invoked the concept to describe the interconnected maritime space. The United States formally adopted the terminology in 2018, renaming its Pacific Command the Indo-Pacific Command. India articulated its own vision at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in 2018, emphasising a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific underpinned by rule-based order, freedom of navigation, and respect for sovereignty. Notably, China and Russia have consistently rejected this framing, with Beijing characterising it as a containment strategy.
The institutional anchor of India's Indo-Pacific architecture is the Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue), comprising India, the United States, Australia, and Japan. Originally convened in 2007, the Quad was revived in 2017 and elevated to the leaders' level in 2021, expanding its agenda beyond maritime security to cover critical and emerging technologies, supply chain resilience, climate, and vaccine diplomacy. India also launched the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) in 2019 — a non-alliance, inclusive framework built around seven thematic pillars including maritime security, ecology, disaster risk reduction, and trade connectivity.
India's Indo-Pacific strategy rests on several interlocking pillars. First, maritime domain awareness and security: India has invested in surveillance infrastructure, white-shipping agreements, and naval cooperation with littoral states to monitor and secure sea lanes critical to its trade and energy imports. The Great Nicobar Island Development Project, a ₹72,000-crore (~$10 billion) initiative, exemplifies this — positioned just 40 nautical miles north of the Strait of Malacca, through which approximately 100,000 ships transit annually, it is designed to project India's geostrategic presence at a chokepoint of global commerce.
Second, defence industrial partnerships: India has moved from being a net arms importer to actively exporting defence platforms. The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile — jointly developed with Russia — was exported to the Philippines, marking India's entry into the defence export market in the Indo-Pacific. …
Consider the following in respect of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS):
1.Inaugural IONS was held in India in 2015 under the chairmanship of the Indian Navy.
2.IONS is a voluntary initiative that seeks to increase maritime co-operation among navies of the littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
With reference to 'Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC)', consider the following statements:
1.It was established very recently in response to incidents of piracy and accidents of oil spills.
2.It is an alliance meant for maritime security only.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Consider the following:
1.Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
2.Missile Technology Control Regime
3.Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
India is a member of which of the above?
With reference to India's Indo-Pacific strategy, consider the following statements:
1.India advocates 'Free, Open and Inclusive Indo-Pacific' (FOIIP), adding 'Inclusive' to the US-proposed FOIP formulation.
2.India formally articulated its Indo-Pacific vision at the Shangri-La Dialogue held in Tokyo.
3.The Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) is a binding alliance framework with seven thematic pillars.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The 'Great Nicobar Island Development Project' is strategically significant primarily because:
Consider the following statements about the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad):
1.The Quad was originally convened in 2007 and was elevated to the leaders' level in 2021.
2.The Quad's agenda is exclusively limited to maritime security and freedom of navigation.
3.India, the United States, Australia, and Japan are the four members of the Quad.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Assertion (A): India withdrew from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in 2019.
Reason (R): India was concerned that RCEP's tariff structure could expose its domestic market to a surge of imports, particularly from China.
Which of the following is correct?
Which of the following correctly describes the principle of 'ASEAN Centrality' as advocated by India in the context of the Indo-Pacific?
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