Indo-Pacific stability inseparable from India's national well-being

With India simultaneously chairing both Indian Ocean Rim Association and Indian Ocean Naval Symposium from 2025 to 2027, New Delhi is uniquely positioned to harmonize maritime capacity-building across regions.

- ANUTTAMA BANERJI

As global attention remains preoccupied with the turbulence of Europe and West Asia, the Indo-Pacific has quietly emerged as the true fulcrum of 21st-century geopolitics. Stretching from Africa’s eastern coastline to the shores of the Americas, this vast maritime expanse has become both the nerve centre of global trade and the arena of evolving strategic competition. The Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue 2025 (IPRD 2025), India’s flagship maritime conference convened by the Indian Navy and the National Maritime Foundation, brings the spotlight back where it belongs—on peace, partnership, and prosperity in this critical region.

This year’s Dialogue, themed “Regional Capacity-Building and Capability-Enhancement for Promoting Holistic Maritime Security and Growth,” underscores the need for the Indo-Pacific to move from ideas to implementation. As the region faces overlapping crises—from piracy and illegal fishing to fragile supply chains and climate-induced vulnerabilities—IPRD 2025 underscores how cooperation and capability must progress hand in hand.

Home to half of humanity and encompassing nearly 65% of the world’s oceans, the Indo-Pacific serves as the artery of global commerce. Every major shipping route, energy corridor, and trade network intersects through these waters. Yet its dynamism is shadowed by insecurity: competing claims in the South China Sea, piracy in the Western Indian Ocean, and environmental degradation across fragile island ecosystems.