About the Issue

The Indo-Pacific concept has emerged as the most useful for grasping the maritime and strategic trends in the vast but increasingly integrated region stretching from the Gulf and East Africa to India and East Asia and then to the United States. As against the much-used term Asia-Pacific with its focus on the international politics of the Western Pacific and North Asia, or the Indian Ocean Rim that excludes the major powers of the East, the Indo-Pacific concept emphasizes the crucial role of India in the strategic system of the region, as well as the vital role of the United States, Japan, China, Australia, the ASEAN and Gulf states, and their interdependence and emerging rivalries. From the perspective of flows of goods and services across and between the Indian and Pacific oceans– most importantly energy flows from the West to South and East Asia, too, the Indo Pacific makes abundant sense. It is here also that the rise of China and India is altering the strategic landscape and power balances. As China’s rise and its assertive and expansionist posture unravels the established order, a new balance of power and institutional structure that can preserve peace will be needed.

It is to comprehend the diverse perspectives, interests and strategies shaping the region, that we devote this special issue of the National Security to the Indo-Pacific. Centrally situated between the more volatile and conflicted western zone and an assertive China in the east that swears by the utility of power, India has an abiding interest in the stability, peace and sustenance of a law based open and inclusive order. The issue is dedicated towards grasping the broad trends underway so that policy options for realizing that goal become clearer.

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Editor's Note

Editorial Board

International Editorial Advisory Board

Contents : Vol. II Issue III | July - September 2019

Essays

Regional and Sub-Regional Constructs within the Indo-Pacific | Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa

An Australian view of the Indo Pacific – three big problems and one way forward | Michael Shoebridge

Unpacking the Trump Administration’s New Indo-Pacific Strategy | Jeff M Smith

Articles

China’s Multilateral Gambit in South Asia | Asoke Kumar Mukerji

The Geo-political Underpinnings of the "Open and Free Indo-Pacific" Concept | Baladas Ghoshal

Importance of East Africa in Indo-Pacific | Neha Sinha

Geopolitics of the South Pacific and Opportunities for India | Maitrayee Shilpa Kishore

Book Reviews

The Indo-Pacific in India’s imagination | Amruta Karambelkar

India and Asia’s Changing Balance of Power | Manish

Indo-Pacific – Diverse Perspectives | Udayan Das

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