Opinion | PM Modi In Seychelles: While US Pivots Away, India Deepens Its Grip On The Indian Ocean

Sanbeer Singh Ranhotra

India lives on its shores — and this visit was a reminder that it intends to govern them

On June 16, Washington quietly restored an old name. U.S. Indo-Pacific Command became “Pacific Command" again. The military map did not change. The political signal did.

In 2018, adding the word “Indo" had served a clear purpose. It reflected a strategic wager that India and the Indian Ocean would sit closer to the centre of American thinking on Asia. Restoring “Pacific" came with the usual official language about tradition and institutional roots. But in strategy, names are never only names. They tell partners what matters, and sometimes what matters less.

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Opinion | PM Modi In Seychelles: Honouring 50 Years Of The Indian Ocean Bond

New Delhi did not answer that signal with complaint. It answered with movement.

Less than two weeks later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Seychelles. That choice carried its own message. When larger powers adjust their vocabulary, India cannot afford to adjust its geography. The Indian Ocean does not become less important because Washington chooses to speak of it less often – perhaps in a bid to placate China’s Xi.

That is why Seychelles........

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