The IPOI proposes cooperation in seven sectors (or ‘pillars’) – Maritime security; maritime ecology; maritime resources; capacity building and resource sharing; disaster risk reduction and management; science, technology and academic cooperation; trade, connectivity and maritime transport. As is evident from this list, the IPOI seeks to act on the entire spectrum of challenges in the maritime domain. It seeks to widen the scope of the Indo-Pacific narrative beyond traditional security and geopolitical challenges to include economic, development and environmental challenges in the maritime domain. The proposed architecture is open, cooperative and inclusive. Any two or more nations can start collaborating in a particular sector. Other nations can join in at any point if they perceive value in the collaboration. Hence, it will be a loose mechanism that is expected to evolve over time since collaborations that have relevance and value will gain more participants. There is no immediate plan to provide supporting structures for the initiative. Structures can be built, if partner nations desire so, once the initiative gains traction.

The IPOI is probably the most optimum response that India can offer. India need not, and cannot, match the Chinese funding of infrastructure development given its capacity constraints. India seeks to provide the nations in the region, especially the smaller ones, assistance in sectors that matter most to them in terms of economic prosperity, sustainable development, protection from natural calamities, measures to stall climate change, and security of national assets. Having taken its time to finalise its vision of the Indo-Pacific, India is keen to provide “visible efforts to create a safe, secure and stable maritime domain”[3] in the region. These efforts, rather than remaining obsessed merely on traditional security, will be broad-based to make them more acceptable and relevant to all.

To emphasise inclusivity, and probably keep it simple, these efforts are sought to be progressed through existing regional and multilateral organisations rather than seeking to create new structures. Conscious effort has been made by India to emphasise commonality with existing initiatives of such organisations. The Prime Minister proposed the IPOI in the EAS. He mentioned that the collaborations will be in line with Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14) of the United Nations Development Programme, “Life below water”, which seeks to conserve and sustain marine and coastal ecosystems. The ‘pillars’ of IPOI were further elaborated upon in the 4^th EAS Maritime Security Workshop that India hosted in Chennai on 06-07 February 2020[4] and the 6^th Roundtable Meeting of ASEAN-India Network of Think Tanks (AINTT) held on 20 August 2020[5]. There has also been a persistent effort to seek commonality with the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.

All of this was touched upon by the External Affairs Minister (EAM) in his Valedictory Address at 11^th Delhi Dialogue in New Delhi on 14 December 2019.[6] He spoke of not getting “mired in a potentially misleading quest to find a complete identity of views” on the concepts of the Indo-Pacific. Further he stated that, “the more important task at hand is to invest time and effort…to deliver tangible and meaningful cooperative initiatives” as also these should “remain open to cooperation on as wide a platform as possible…with as many partners as possible”. The IPOI “calls for establishing a free, open and cooperative platform to respond to a range of maritime challenges and needs”. He further reiterated it to be “logical that instead of trying to set up new architecture, we work with architecture that already exists”. These existing platforms include ASEAN-led mechanisms and Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA). He further believed and stated that “we should look to make progress steadily to find thematic synergies between platforms in the entire region…The goal should eventually be for all of us to have the capacity to seamlessly switch between platforms across the region, so as to deliver meaningful outcomes”.

Over the last one year, the IPOI has consistently found mention in Joint statements released by India. Australia was the first to indicate support and committed to work closely with India to develop the initiative.[7] Japan confirmed its “willingness to discuss concrete cooperation based on the initiative” in November 2019[8] and “agreed to be the lead partner in the connectivity pillar” in October 2020[9]. EAM mentioned IPOI in his Opening Remarks at the 2^nd Quad Ministerial Meeting in Tokyo on 06 October 2020.[10] Vietnam and Philippines agreed to enhance cooperation “in line with India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) and the ASEAN’s Outlook on Indo-Pacific” in August[11] and November 2020[12] respectively.

The IPOI is still work in progress. This initiative will highlight India’s endeavour to be seen as a valued partner in comprehensive security and sustainable development, rather than an aspirant for power and influence. For its part, India is already undertaking substantial work in each of the domains and now has another overarching umbrella under which it can place them, other than the already mentioned Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR). This initiative also complements two multilateral efforts being steered by India – the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). However, it is clear that despite its ‘naturally-growing’ conception, it will have to be steered and highlighted by India. The IPOI label will also most probably adorn only those collaborations in which India is a participant. It is not clear why other nations collaborating on projects in the maritime sectors, without Indian participation, would seek to label them as part of IPOI on their own.

End Notes

[1]  Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), GoI, Prime Minister’s Keynote Address at Shangri La Dialogue (June 01, 2018), 01 June 2018.

[2]  Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), GoI, Prime Minister’s Speech at the East Asia Summit (04 November 2019), 04 November 2019.

[3]   Ibid.

[4]  Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), GoI, Fourth East Asia Summit (EAS) Conference on Maritime Security Cooperation, Press Release, 04 February 2020.

[5]  Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), GoI, Remarks by EAM during the 6^th Roundtable Meeting of ASEAN-India Network of Think Tanks (AINTT), Press Release, 20 August 2020.

[6]  Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), GoI, Valedictory Address by External Affairs Minister at 11th Delhi Dialogue (December 14, 2019), 14 December 2019.

[7]  Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), GoI, Joint Declaration on a Shared Vision for Maritime Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific Between the Republic of India and the Government of Australia, 04 June 2020.

[8]  Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), GoI, Joint Statement – First India-Japan 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Meeting, 30 November 2019.

[9]  Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), GoI, 13^th India-Japan Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue, 07 October 2020.

[10]  Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), GoI, Opening remarks by EAM at 2^nd Quad Ministerial Meeting in Tokyo, Japan, 06 October 2020.

[11]  Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), GoI, 17^th India-Vietnam Joint Commission Meeting, 25 August 2020.

[12]  Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), GoI, 4^th India – Philippines Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation, 06 November 2020.

Commander Subhasish Sarangi is a Research Fellow at the United Service Institution of India (USI), New Delhi.
Article uploaded on 19-11-2020
Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the organisation that he belongs to or of the USI of India.