ABSTRACT
The Indo-Pacific is the new taxonomy which is replacing the older Asia-Pacific identity. As the engine of global economic growth has shifted eastwards, it is bringing new kinds of geopolitical challenges as well. While the earlier Asia-Pacific identity was based on an economic focus with underlying security concerns, the Indo-Pacific is driven by strategic imperatives arising from global economic changes. Assessing the Indo-Pacific compels an understanding that must look at the significance that the Indian and the Pacific oceans played in the historical context. However, any analysis of the evolution of the Indo-Pacific cannot ignore how these oceanic extents offered critical trade and cultural linkages to this vast and diverse region. As the realities of the colonial period gave way to a newly emerged “global south” the divisions of this oceanic extent offered easier “region” formation on geographical lines during the Cold War. In post-Cold War times, the dynamics of structural shifts became evident and simultaneously an economic shift eastwards brought with it diverse geopolitical challenges. The questions concerning the maintenance of a normative order will see different levels of interaction – both bilateral and multi-lateral, with multi-alignment as an option for states to pursue their national interest.
