Pacific Island Countries in India’s Indo-Pacific Strategy: Partners or Game Changers?

By : Shubhamitra Das

Page No: 59-76

Abstract
The Pacific Island Countries (PICs) have gained strategic presence in the Indo-Pacific frame of reference in spite of being known as too small and insignificant to play a meaningful role in international politics. Escalating US-China rivalry and its influence in the Pacific has led the stakeholders of the Indo-Pacific to desire a lucrative, ‘free, open, inclusive, prosperous, and a peaceful Indo-Pacific.’The Pacific, comprising the micro states, scattered island countries, along with Australia and New Zealand, are a vast platform for constructive engagement for India. India’s Indo-Pacific strategy intersects with both the Look-to-Act East Policy and ‘extended neighbourhood’ policy. During the Cold War, the Pacific Rim Countries, especially Australia, New Zealand, and the USA (ANZUS), had fortressed the region from the erstwhile USSR. But China had already entered with aid diplomacy and security pacts that are strewn with secrecy, but showcasing its economic interests which have strategic ramifications have intensified competition. This essay focuses on India’s Indo- Pacific strategy, and its Pacific tilt. The PICs have made it evident that size does not matter in international politics, and have emerged both as strategic partners and game changers.

Author:
Shubhamitra Das is an Associate Professor, Center for Indo-Pacific Studies (CIPS), School of International Studies (SIS), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi.
 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.32381/IFAJ.2025.20.1.4