Regional Architecture for Partnerships in the Indo-Pacific: The Role of US & India in Security and the Commons

The Department of International Studies, Political Science and History, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), in collaboration with Rising Powers Initiative, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University, conducted the culminating conference on ‘Regional Architecture for Partnerships in the Indo-Pacific: The Role of US & India in Security and the Commons’, a year-round conference discussing various aspects of the Indo-US relations and the strategy in the Indo-Pacific. The welcome address was given by Dr. Manoharan N, Professor of the department, while the inaugural address was given by Ms. Alyssa Ayres, Dean, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University. The culminating conference was split into two days, on the 17th and 18th of August. 

Day 1 - Regional Architecture for Security in the Indo-Pacific

The first day proceeded with a panel discussion on Regional Architecture for Security in the Indo-Pacific. The panelists for the session were Jeff Smith, Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, and Lisa Curtis from the Center for a New American Study, along with Retd. Adml. Arum Prakash, Former Chief of Naval Staff, India.

The first speaker was Jeff Smith, who gave a general overview of the security and defense cooperation between India and the US, and its prospects in the region as well. He spoke about how India and US have easier relations when it came to strategic and defense ties, compared to economic and other areas of cooperation. He mentioned the various bilateral treaties and agreements between the two countries that have brought great progress to strategic relations. However, despite all progress made, he emphasized that there is still more that the two countries can do, like breaking down bureaucratic obstacles in both countries, more military exercises in both bilateral and multilateral arenas, broadening cooperation in the cyber arena as well, reworking the Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) to bring to fruition some of its goals. He emphasized bringing tangible progress to the CAATSA issue hanging over the two countries. He also mentioned how India plays a big role in the future trajectory of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) and Indo-Pacific region as such.

Focusing on multilateral relations, he spoke about the regional security architecture, and how the enduring rivalry between India and Pakistan in South Asia has led to the underdevelopment of the Indian Ocean half of the Indo-Pacific region and made it difficult for other stakeholders to find consensus in questions of security architecture. He spoke on how bilateral, trilateral and multilateral security arrangements may constitute informal security architecture in the region, even though it may lack the distinct form of the European Union or ASEAN. Finally, he spoke on how the region is driven first and foremost by the sovereign countries and the relationships and coalitions formed by them.

The next speaker was Lisa Curtis, former New Mexico state senator. She touched upon the finer points of the Indo-US relationship in brief. She elaborated that the friendship that the two nations share should be extended into a strong military alliance in the near future, to ensure the containment of China's aggressions in the Indo-Pacific region. She also touched upon the Chinese influence over Sri Lanka, mentioning the recent docking of the Chinese naval vessel in Sri Lanka's Hambantota port, reiterating that this behavior of China, despite opposition from US and India, is something that can be curtailed only through stronger opposition in the form of Indo-US alliance, perhaps in the context of the Quad.

In her concluding remarks, she specifically made note of the Russian-Ukraine crisis, mentioning that we, as scholars, should be able to speak freely on the issue. She further went on to comment that India should start being less reliant on Russia for its arms and weapons requirements, and start taking US technology into consideration more. She also said that US technology is emerging as the best and that India should make use of it, rather than straddling between the US and Russia.

Following her speech, Retd. Admiral Arun Prakash, Former Chief of Naval Staff, gave the concluding remarks. He highlighted India’s unique position between the US and Russia and focused on India’s national interests in its relations with other countries. He highlighted the points made by both panelists and gave his own remarks to add to it, highlighting the Indian perspective on it. He mentioned how it will be difficult for India to pull out from its reliance on Russia for weapons and defense technology, as nearly 65-75% of weapons are from Russia, and pulling away would literally mean India disarming itself. The US also has not stepped up equally and provided India with assistance to develop its own technology. He also mentioned the ambiguity present in QUAD, and how its focus on China needs to be reevaluated. He also spoke of India’s need for assistance from other countries, especially as the mantle holder of net security providers in the Indian Ocean region. Finally, he emphasized on the need to broaden the economic aspect in the region to the country expansion of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and to give countries in the region a safety net to avoid China’s debt trap.

After the Admiral’s remarks, the panelists were asked to order their areas of priority in India-US Cooperation. Following this, The students engaged the panelists with questions regarding the lecture, which the panelists answered eagerly. The first day’s lecture ended with concluding remarks given by the three panelists.

Day 2 - Regional Architecture for the Commons in the Indo-Pacific

The second day of the conference centered on the topic of Regional Architecture of Commons in the Indo-Pacific. Prof Deepa welcomed everyone and introduced the speakers for the day Jason Donofrio, Cornell Overfield, and Abhijit Singh.

The first speaker for the day, Mr. Jason Donofrio from the Ocean Foundation, talked about the need for nontraditional security dialogues involving the Blue economy. He analyzed why the US did not sign UNCLOS and its interest in sea bed mining. He added that the same goes for India as its blue economy is harnessing enormous resources. He said India and the US had been involved in traditional multilateral security exercises, but discussing the resources in the bilateral setting will go a long way. He then shifted his focus to climate change mitigation and pointed out the need for differential mitigation facilities. He also stated that most leads or ideas are not implemented and only remain in a textbook context. He discussed decarbonization in India and stressed the need for collaboration and bilateral conversations with the US and Europe. He concluded the speech by mentioning the no positive news on the climate change front but gave a positive outlook on the way forward. Following his speech, the students raised several questions. In that, one asked about the two sectors where India and the US can work together. He answered the question by mentioning the United nations' High-level panel for the sustainable economy and its association with the Climate agreements. He then focused on grassroot-level change in mangrove projects.

Mr. Cornell Overfield, the second speaker, talked about the involvement of China in the region of fishing. While he mentioned the unregulated fishing activity in China, he also stressed the need for government subsidies in India to encourage deep-sea fishing. He also said the international funds available for investment require capital management transparency. He also talked about the different interpretations of the law by both the US and India. Developing countries ask for limited freedom on the high seas, whereas the US asks for complete freedom over the region.

Mr. Jason Donofrio was asked about the conditionality for funding, and he answered that the conditionality of transparency could restrict how the community utilizes the money. Students have asked questions regarding China's artificial islands. He replied that the Chinese claimed it could not change anything. It is trying to project its power for the international community to wait and watch.

Following the Q & A, Mr Abhijit Singh from Observer Research Foundation talked about the Indian instances and compared his arguments with the previous speakers. As a concluding remark for the panel discussion, Prof Deepa Ollapally summarised the major ideas and listed three points for the audience to focus on. 

Following the panel discussion, Fr. Jose CC delivered the valedictory address, where he mentioned Christ University as the representation of South India in the discussion of global affairs. He talked about the interest created by the initiative in the field. Following The valedictory address, Dr Madhumati Deshpande, Department coordinator of ISPH, delivered the vote of thanks.