The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth.
The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates significantly in the Persian Gulf Region, the Horn of Africa, the Strait of Malacca, and routinely conducts anti-piracy operations and partners with other navies in the region. It also conducts routine two to three month-long deployments in the South and East China seas as well as in the western Mediterranean sea simultaneously.
The Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) is the world's largest international maritime warfare exercise. RIMPAC is held biennially during June and July of even-numbered years from Honolulu, Hawaii, with the exception of 2020 where it was held in August. It is hosted and administered by the United States Navy's Indo-Pacific Command, headquartered at Pearl Harbor, in conjunction with the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, and Hawaii National Guard forces under the control of the Governor of Hawaii.
The United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) is the unified combatant command of the United States Armed Forces responsible for the Indo-Pacific region.
A blue-water navy is a maritime force capable of operating globally, essentially across the deep waters of open oceans. While definitions of what actually constitutes such a force vary, there is a requirement for the ability to exercise sea control at long range.
INS Rana is a Rajput-class destroyer in active service with the Indian Navy. She was commissioned on 28 June 1982.
Exercise Malabar is a naval exercise involving the United States, Japan and India as permanent partners. Australia rejoined the exercise in 2020. The annual Malabar exercises includes diverse activities, ranging from fighter combat operations from aircraft carriers through maritime interdiction operations, anti-submarine warfare, diving salvage operations, amphibious operations, counter-piracy operations, cross–deck helicopter landings and anti–air warfare operations. Over the years, the exercise has been conducted in the Philippine Sea, off the coast of Japan, the Persian Gulf, in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. It is taken care by the Asian and the North American Commands.
The Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) is a integrated tri-services command of the Indian Armed Forces, based at Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a Union Territory of India. It was created in 2001 to safeguard India's strategic interests in Southeast Asia and the Strait of Malacca by increasing rapid deployment of military assets in the region. It provides logistical and administrative support to naval ships which are sent on deployment to East Asia and the Pacific Ocean.
The String of Pearls is a geopolitical hypothesis proposed by United States political researchers in 2004. The term refers to the network of Chinese military and commercial facilities and relationships along its sea lines of communication, which extend from the Chinese mainland to Port Sudan in the Horn of Africa. The sea lines run through several major maritime choke points such as the Strait of Mandeb, the Strait of Malacca, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Lombok Strait as well as other strategic maritime centres in Somalia and the littoral South Asian countries of Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and the Maldives.
A maritime power is a nation with a very strong navy, which often is also a great power, or at least a regional power. A maritime power is able to easily control their coast, and exert influence upon both nearby and far countries. A nation that dominates the world navally is known as a maritime superpower. Many countries that become maritime powers become strong to defend themselves from an extant threat, as the USSR did during the Cold War to defend itself from the United States Navy. In that scenario, it is common for the emerging maritime power to focus largely upon area denial tactics, rather than power projection.
Dr. W. Lawrence S. Prabhakar, M.A, Ph.D. is an associate professor of Strategic Studies and International Relations in the department of Political Science at Madras Christian College, India and Adjunct Research Fellow, S.Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD), commonly known as the Quad, is a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan and the United States that is maintained by talks between member countries. The dialogue was initiated in 2007 by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with the support of Australian Prime Minister John Howard, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney. The dialogue was paralleled by joint military exercises of an unprecedented scale, titled Exercise Malabar. The diplomatic and military arrangement was widely viewed as a response to increased Chinese economic and military power.
INS Shakti (A57) is a Deepak-class fleet tanker in service with the Indian Navy. She was built by Fincantieri, an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste. She is the second and final ship of her class. Shakti, along with her predecessor Deepak, is one of the largest ships of the Indian Navy.
INS Jyoti (A58) is the third of four Komandarm Fedko-class replenishment oilers. She was modified for naval use and is now being operated by the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy. Jyoti was the largest ship in the navy until INS Vikramaditya (R33) was commissioned in November 2013. Its primary role is fleet replenishment and sustaining blue-water operations. It was later fitted with close-in weapon systems for self-defence.
The most significant initiative made by the Narendra Modi government is the focus on neighbouring countries and major Asian powers coupled with emphasizing on the two decades old Look East policy. Asia being the major focus area of his foreign policy, Modi and his foreign minister chose several Asian countries for their initial bilateral visits. He has made state visits to Bhutan and Nepal and Japan within the first 100 days of his government and also hosted Asian leaders like former Prime Minister Tony Abbott of Australia, President Xi Jinping of China and Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng of Vietnam, apart from inviting SAARC leaders in his inauguration ceremony. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has also made official visits to several Asian capitals like Dhaka, Bangladesh, Kathmandu, Nepal, Naypidaw, Myanmar, Singapore, Hanoi, Vietnam, Manama, Bahrain, Kabul, Afghanistan, Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Malé, Maldives, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Seoul, South Korea and Beijing China.
The countries of the Bay of Bengal include littoral and landlocked countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia that depend on the bay for maritime usage. Historically, the Bay of Bengal has been a highway of transport, trade, and cultural exchange between diverse peoples encompassing the Indian subcontinent, Indochinese peninsula, and Malay Archipelago. Today, the Bay of Bengal region is the convergence of two major geopolitical blocs- the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) promotes regional engagement in the area.
Milan is a multilateral naval exercise hosted by the Indian Navy. The biennial event features professional exercises and seminars, social events and sporting fixtures between participating nations.
Underwater domain awareness (UDA) is the aspect of maritime domain awareness focused on the underwater sector, including, from a security perspective, sea lines of communication (SLOC), coastal waters and varied maritime assets with reference to hostile intent and the proliferation of submarine and mine capabilities intended to limit access to the seas and littoral waters. The military requirement is not the only motivation for undersea domain awareness. The earth's undersea geophysical activities as they relate to the well-being of humans is also relevant, as monitoring such activities can provide vital clues to minimize the impact of devastating natural disasters.
SAGAR, used as a backronym or reverse acronym which stands for Security and Growth for All in the Region, is a label used by the Prime Minister and Government of India for India's vision and geopolitical framework of maritime cooperation in the Indian Ocean region. Sagar means 'ocean' or 'sea' in multiple Indian languages. Since the first usage of the phrase in 2015 at Port Louis by Prime Minister Narendra Modi the term has been adapted to include more elements such as linkages with the Indo-Pacific region.
Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX) is a multilateral event conducted by Indian Navy in which naval forces of foreign countries participate. This exercise is conducted as part of the Indian Navy's ongoing efforts to enhance its operational capabilities and strengthen its partnerships with friendly nations. MPX underscores India's commitment to promoting regional stability and security.
Bangladesh 
India 
Maldives 
Pakistan 
Seychelles 
Sri Lanka 
Iran 
Oman 
Saudi Arabia 
Qatar 
UAE 
France [upper-alpha 1] 
Kenya 
Mauritius 
Mozambique 
South Africa 
Tanzania 
Eritrea 
Australia 
Indonesia 
Malaysia 
Myanmar 
Singapore 
Thailand 
Timor Leste 
