ABSTRACT
Post 2014, India’s aid to the Pacific Island countries (PIC) has seen a marked increase. This is a puzzling new development in India’s foreign policy as its aid has largely been devoted to its near neighbourhood, driven by its strategic intent to maintain influence over the South Asian region. However, as an emerging donor in the Pacific region, India’s aid has largely been understudied in existing literature. This is important for two reasons: one, India’s relatively new entry into the increasing geostrategic competition in the Pacific region has implications for the wider Indo-Pacific, particularly given China’s increased assertiveness through its aid and strategic presence in the region and two, India’s aid to the Pacific is an example of South–South cooperation where the agency of the recipient is recognized in providing aid according to its own strategic needs. This chapter looks at the strategic needs of both the donor and the recipients by analysing speeches of the leaders and the Boe Declaration to conclude that there is a strategic congruence between India’s aid to the Pacific, as India looks to balance China’s growing strategic influence in the region as it seeks a multipolar Pacific while the PIC look to diversify their economic and political choices. Theoretically, this argument adds to the debate on how India is trying to use balance of power to maintain stability in the Indo-Pacific as it looks to fulfil its vision of a multipolar world order.
