Reshaping the Military-Political Landscape in the Indo-Pacific Region

A number of notable recent events provide good reason to revisit the subject of the transforming military-political situation in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Revival of ‘US Pacific Command’

With the end of the Cold War, China gradually moved to the forefront of USPACOM’s strategic concerns, having made its presence felt in the waters of the Indian Ocean as well – primarily through the global economic initiative known as the Belt and Road, but with growing backing from its rapidly modernising armed forces. Under these circumstances, the question of control over the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca – which links it to the Indian Ocean – acquired sharply increased significance for Washington.

The task of addressing this challenge fell to USPACOM, which was renamed United States Indo-Pacific Command in 2018 and was expected to coordinate with US Central Command (CENTCOM) in the Indian Ocean. The recent comeback to the command’s original name, we should reiterate, is consistent with the core tenets of the latest iteration of the US National Security Strategy, which places at its centre the issue of maintaining stability in both halves of the American continent and across the Pacific.

At the same time, the jury is still out on who might eventually take over the responsibility in the Indian Ocean, which had previously been assigned to USPACOM, as it turned out, temporarily. CENTCOM alone is not capable of handling the task, and there is a need for some form of “a local partner.” It comes across that Washington is currently grappling with a difficult choice between two rivals, India and Pakistan. The latter rendered the Trump administration a significant favour by helping to engineer a reasonably dignified exit from the ill‑conceived US‑Israeli adventure against Iran. Yet Pakistan today is more of an ally to China rather........

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