With China’s assertiveness posing a potential threat to the security of its Asian neighbours, open regional trade and a rules-based international order, the US has been pushing for a greater role for India in the vast Indo-Pacific region, which stretches from the west coast of India to the western shores of the United States.
Indeed, as the world’s ninth-largest economy, the country under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is responding, beginning to flex its economic, military and diplomatic clout, seeking a major role in the regional balance of power. Under Modi, India has already demonstrated its credibility as a contributor to the Indo-Pacific balance through joint military exercises, patrolling, port calls, anti-piracy missions and humanitarian missions.