The Indo-Pacific is a strategic system encompassing the Indian and Pacific oceans, reflecting the expanding interests and reach of China and India as well as the enduring role of the US. The Lowy Institute's International Security program presents a weekly selection of links illuminating the changing security picture in this increasingly connected super-region.
- What are the views of the newly nominated US Secretary of Defense, Ash Carter, on Asia?
- India's first indigenously produced nuclear ballistic missile submarine, the INS Arihant, conducted its first sea-trials in the Bay of Bengal this week.
- Construction of the largest coast guard vessel in the world, at 10,000 tons, is nearing completion in a Shanghai dockyard. The largest coast guard vessels are currently operated by Japan, at 6500 tons. The Chinese ship will reportedly be ready for commissioning sometime next year.
- Vietnam has filed a 'statement of interest' with the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague regarding the Philippines arbitration case against China in the South China Sea. This follows position papers issued by China and the US outlining their respective legal positions on the issue of SCS territorial disputes last week.
- The Lowy Institute's Danielle Rajendram released a new research paper this week on India's foreign policy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the country's developing Indo-Pacific strategy.
- War is Boring has written on the rise of amphibious forces among Indo-Pacific powers.
- Is Indonesia's potential role in the Indian Ocean underdeveloped?
- India has now officially banned the Islamic State.
- Lastly, Shuja Nawaz says that the Taliban's attack on a school in Peshawar may provoke a 'nationwide civil-military consensus on fighting terrorism' in Pakistan.
The Lowy Institute International Security Program's work on Indo-Pacific security is supported by two grants from the John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation.