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On 27th May Vivekanand International Foundation hosted the Ambassador of Indonesia to New Delhi, H.E. Sidharto Suryodhipuro. The Ambassador delivered a talk on ‘Indonesia and the Indo-Pacific’. The gist of his talk is given in the succeeding paragraphs.

The idea of Indo-Pacific is being widely used in policy and strategic circles. All of the World’s great powers are physically present in the Indo-Pacific. Indo-Pacific is defined in geographical terms, it is also defined in political-security terms. A third, and a major aspect in the Indo-Pacific is the maritime domain. It is home to some of the World’s critical waterways and chokepoints. As regional economies have grown, it has led to rise in human activities on the ocean surface and sub-surface. The global trade is sea-borne. The Indo-Pacific is also witnessing territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Amidst the talk of institutionalisng the Indo-Pacific, the existing mechanisms such as the East Asia Summit can be utilised. ASEAN is the key factor of the Indo-Pacific and Prime Minister Modi’s speech at Shangri-La are identical to Indonesia’s vision of the Indo-Pacific.

The propositions to take forward the Indo-Pacific would require ways to peacefully involve India, China and other countries, of harnessing opportunities by thinking out of the box and, no containment of a rising power, cooperation to mitigate the security dilemma, centrality of the ASEAN, efficient ocean governance and cooperation.
India and Indonesia can enhance cooperation in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands can be connected with the triangle of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. India’s Act East Policy and Indonesia’s Global Maritime Fulcrum are converging polices and both countries share the common strategic posture. India-Indonesia economic relations need to look beyond the traditional commodities and look into the areas of Internet of Things, information technology. Both sides can explore joint manufacturing of ships, aircrafts and electric vehicles.

Click here to read full speech of H.E. Mr. Sidharto R. Suryodipuro