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Opinion National Interest PoV 50-Word Edit

ThePrint On Camera Videos In Pictures

Society & Culture Around Town Book Excerpts Vigyapanti The Dating Story

More Judiciary Education YourTurn Work With Us Campus Voice

US is retreating from the Indian Ocean. It has done this before, and regretted it

The American strategy towards the Indian Ocean has always been shaped by the pressures of great-power rivalry and an urge to secure friends in the Indian Ocean Region.

Another Pentagon-led name change was unveiled last week, when it was announced that the military’s US Indo-Pacific Command would be dropping “Indo” from its name and reverting to the long-standing US Pacific Command, or USPACOM. The move, according to a Pentagon release, “honors the command’s deep historical roots, fostering a sense of pride and collective spirit among all who serve in the Pacific.”

The renaming has drawn criticism. US Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued a statement that said, “Rather than taking steps to end this deeply unpopular war, this bill rebrands the Department of Defense as the Department of War, a juvenile move that sadly describes the reality of a President who has abandoned meaningful diplomacy in favor of starting doubtful wars in multiple locations and threatening even more.”

Senator Kaine, an ardent proponent of the Quad and one of those who considers Quad as an essential, non-exclusive construct of like-minded democracies addressing security challenges in the Indo-Pacific, actively supports Pacific Command initiatives regarding arms sales and security ties with India to counter regional pressure.

To understand what is being discarded, it helps to recall how the Indo-Pacific construct came into being.

Also read: How does China see US’ Indo-Pacific name change?

The US strategy toward the Indian Ocean  

The US launched the Proliferation........

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