India central in Indo-Pacific security

Treasury Secretary Bessent may not, but several other Trump appointees understand and appreciate the importance of India in the securing from domination by the PRC the waters of the Indo-Pacific.

- M.D. NALAPAT

The Indo-Pacific has overtaken the Atlantic to be the most important of the two. Meanwhile, Asia has overtaken Europe where Gross Domestic Product is concerned. Of course, some European leaders such as President Macron of France still have their minds tethered to the past rather than the present and foreseeable future. Geopolitically, BRICS Plus has far more GDP than the EU and the UK combined. As far as the US is concerned, the volume of trade with Asia is now greater than the volume of trade with Europe. The ascent of Asia has not gone unnoticed by the exceptionally capable (barring a few) Cabinet appointees of President Donald Trump. They have understood that the real challenge to US primacy in the world is China, which has been controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since 1949. The good news from the point of view of the future of the Indo-Pacific is that Vice-President J.D. Vance understands this as well. Treasury Secretary Bessent may not, but several other Trump appointees understand and appreciate the importance of India in the securing from domination by the PRC the waters of the Indo-Pacific. Already the South China Sea has in effect become a Chinese lake. PRC military bases are dotted across its waters, in order to prevent entry or exit of any vessel which the PLA, PLAAF and PLAN seek to impound. The US and a few European countries conduct Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs) in the South China Sea, but these have only a symbolic a