Watch it on NIICE Nepal YouTube Channel

Event Report

Kalinga Institute for Indo-Pacific Studies (KIIPS), India and Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement (NIICE) organized Webinar on Navigating India's Way in the Indo-Pacific on 8 June 2020.

The event was chaired by Dr. Pramod Jaiswal. Professor Chintamani Mahapatra was the key speaker on the topic. Prof. Chintamani Mahapatra is currently Rector (Pro-Vice Chancellor) of Jawaharlal Nehru University and Professor of American Studies at the School of International Studies of JNU. He is also the Editor of the Indian Foreign Affairs Journal. He has held positions, such as Member, UGC Review Committee, Area Studies Programme, Member, Fellowship Expert Committee, ICSSR, Editor, Indian Foreign Affairs Journal, Member, Editorial Board, Strategic Analysis, IDSA, Member, Editorial Board, Diaspora Studies and Member, Committee on Studies, Academy of International Studies, Jamia Milia Islamia. Recently, he was Tagore Chair Professor at Yunnan University of China. He has conducted research in several US Presidential Libraries and US National Archives; British Public Record Office in London. Prof. Mahapatra has authored four books, one edited volume, and has contributed chapters to above 30 edited books. He has published above 70 research articles in reputed journals. He has been awarded a number of international fellowships, such as Fulbright Fellowship, Commonwealth Fellowship, and Visiting Fellowships to undertake research in the US, UK, Austria, Australia and many other countries. He has been a visiting faculty in several UGC-run Academic Staff Colleges, the Foreign Service Institute of the Ministry of External Affairs, National Défense College, Army War College, Naval War College and the College of Air Warfare. He is also a regular commentator in newspapers and on audio-visual media on international affairs.

In his presentation he discussed  about three components of indo-pacific. COVID has affected the whole world in every aspect like unemployment is increasing, education of children changing from offline to online, health of people, people who used to go out for work, they were bound to stay at homes. In these critical situations Indian navigation in the indo-pacific region becomes more important.He stressed on the effectiveness of regional leaders at the COVID-19 outreach in the neighbourhood and globally. From providing solutions like vaccine development and export, reimagining healthcare as a strategic asset and being the first responder and preferred partner in IOR or conceptualising global initiatives in the wider Indo Pacific region with like-minded partners—the efforts showcase India’s ability to rise to the call of burden sharing by global powers.

He also talked about the major development in this region. On how  China is keen on expanding its global footprint using Indo-pacific as its stronghold, similar to US hegemony in the Americas. The rise of China is transforming the regime of balances in force in Asia Pacific and has led to the naval rearmament of the countries in the area, while new alliances are being woven in their space. The United States is containing China in the region following an ‘island chain’ strategy that has its roots in the Cold War and whose key vault lies in Taiwan. The Indo-Pacific is a unique geopolitical space that houses multiple disputes. China outnumbers the United States in terms of naval units but not in capabilities because of America's technological advantage.

Lastly, he mentioned the  contestation between democratic countries and authoritarian systems sharpen in the primary theatre of the Indo-Pacific, middle powers are looking at building habits of cooperation. The imperative while responding to the threat of a rising and aggressive superpower, looks at going beyond binaries and focusing on capacity building. This gives all nations, big and small, in the region viable alternatives that help them exercise their agency. The new priorities of the post-COVID world—health security and vaccine development, digital delivery, and green growth—all fall in this arena. According to the speaker , India seems to be working on a broader mandate of human security, where “consensus” grounds collaboration and complementarity. In essence for India, partnerships, preparedness, and the proliferation of a networked region seem to be the way forward.

Prepared by Anjali Yadav, Intern at NIICE