New Delhi: A crucial pillar of cooperation between India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is to ensure an open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific, a region that stretches from the east coast of Japan to the east coast of Africa.
To achieve this objective, two mechanisms have been put in place. One is the India-initiated Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) and the other is the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP). The two initiatives complement each other in multiple ways, particularly in promoting maritime security, stability, and cooperation across the Indo-Pacific region.
Addressing the media here on Wednesday ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Vientiane, Lao PDR, to attend the 21st ASEAN-India Summit and the 19th East Asia Summit, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs Jaideep Mazumdar said that Modi had announced the IPOI during the 14th East Asia Summit in Bangkok in 2019.
“Since then we have built convergences with the ASEAN’s own outlook for the Indo-Pacific, and we work closely with ASEAN countries on this,” Mazumdar said. “Three ASEAN countries - Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore - and three East Asia partners - the United States, Australia and Japan - are our partners in the IPOI.”
What is the IPOI?
The Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative is an initiative of the Government of
India and builds upon the Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) vision announced by Prime Minister Modi in 2015. SAGAR encourages states to cooperate and synergise efforts towards a safe, secure and stable maritime domain as also take meaningful steps for the conservation and sustainable use of the maritime domain.
The IPOI is premised on the liberal theoretical vistas and endorses an open, inclusive, non-treaty-based global initiative for mitigating challenges especially in the maritime domain through practical cooperation. It seeks to build a sense of community by creating new partnerships with like-minded countries through practical cooperation. India is encouraging other countries to join the IPOI and also lead some thematic areas under the initiative. It builds on existing frameworks like the East Asia Summit mechanism, which includes the 10 ASEAN member states and their eight dialogue partners. The 10 ASEAN member states are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. East Timor has recently been given observer status in the bloc. The eight partner countries for the East Asia Summit are Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Russia and the US.
According to Prabir De, Professor at the New Delhi-based Research and Information System for Developing Nations (RIS) think tank and an expert on ASEAN, the IPOI is basically an outcome of India’s interactions with the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, commonly known as the Quad. Comprising India, the US, Japan and Australia, Quad works to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific in the face of China’s hegemony in the region.
“Since the Indo-Pacific also comprises countries in the ASEAN, countries in East Asia, Southeast Asia, India wanted to launch more action-oriented programmes,” De told ETV Bharat. “That is why the IPOI was thought about.”
The IPOI comprises seven pillars that cover a wide spectrum of issues spanning the ‘security-development-capacity building’ continuum in diverse areas spanning security, safety, resource development, science and technology, resilient infrastructure and marine environment-ecology.
The seven pillars of the IPOI are:
- Maritime security
- Maritime ecology
- Maritime resources
- Capacity building and resource sharing
- Disaster risk reduction and management
- Science, technology and academic cooperation
- Trade, connectivity and maritime transport
What is the AOIP?
The ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific was adopted in June 2019 at the 34th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok. Indonesia proposed the AOIP as a strategic response to the growing influence of major powers in the region and escalating geopolitical tensions.
The AOIP envisages ASEAN centrality as the underlying principle for promoting cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, with ASEAN-led mechanisms, such as the East Asia Summit, as platforms for dialogue and implementation of the Indo–Pacific cooperation, while preserving their formats. Furthermore, ASEAN also seeks to develop, where appropriate, cooperation with other regional and sub-regional mechanisms in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions on specific areas of common interests to complement the relevant initiatives.
The AOIP focuses on four priority areas:
- Maritime cooperation
- Connectivity
- UN Sustainable Goals 2030
- Economic and other areas of cooperation
How do the IPOI and APOI function in tandem with each other to ensure an inclusive, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific?
Both IPOI and AOIP stress the importance of inclusivity and respect for international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). This legal framework is critical for ensuring freedom of navigation and overflight, unimpeded lawful commerce, and peaceful dispute resolution.
Maritime security is a cornerstone of both IPOI and AOIP, recognising the Indo-Pacific as a critical maritime zone with complex security challenges, such as territorial disputes, piracy, smuggling, and maritime terrorism.
The IPOI and AOIP both underscore the significance of multilateralism and regional institutions to address Indo-Pacific challenges. They envision a region where all stakeholders collaborate in a transparent, rules-based environment.
“There are many complementaries and convergences between India’s IPOI and ASEAN’s AOIP,” De said. “This is a nice way to engage countries with common, shared challenges be it maritime security, maritime safety, maritime ecology or maritime connectivity. India’s interest in the Indo-Pacific is unparalleled. Over 70 percent of our global trade is through the Indo-Pacific economy.”
He said that there are several shared challenges in the Indian Ocean in terms of surveillance, search and rescue, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), blue economy, undersea marine issues, and maritime connectivity.
“There are many common challenges for AOIP and IPOI,” De said. “Last year, AOIP has taken a new shape with the launch of the ASEAN Indo-Pacific Forum (AIPF). AOIP and IPOI talk with each other for collaboration among coast guards, navies, agencies dealing with maritime alerts such as tsunami and disaster management.”
Addressing the inaugural edition of the AIPF in Jakarta last year, then Indonesian President Joko Widodo said that the Forum prioritises three main agendas: green infrastructure and resilient supply chains; sustainable and innovative financing; and digital transformation and creative economy.
To sum up, the IPOI and AOIP are complementary initiatives that share common goals of maintaining maritime security, ensuring sustainable development, and fostering cooperation across the Indo-Pacific region. While IPOI reflects India’s strategic outreach to shape a cooperative and inclusive Indo-Pacific, the AOIP reaffirms ASEAN’s centrality in the region’s evolving architecture.
