(The Telegraph archive)With the publication of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific last month the elucidations of the concept have expanded. India’s position, too, on the Indo-Pacific is related to this new factor in its geopolitical environment but it has also older antecedents that are equally significant. This statement, in sketching out a new geopolitical category comprising the Indian and Pacific Oceans, did not use the term “Indo-Pacific” itself but certainly anticipated it. This imperial system had as its base Indian labour, Indian business and, not to forget, the Indian policeman and the Indian army. From an Indian perspective, then, the term ‘Indo-Pacific’ can be seen as the convergence of a number of constructs — the geopolitical and the strategic is only the most recent.

Source: The Telegraph July 17, 2019 03:43 UTC