Realizing the Potential of the Indo-Pacific Strategy

As the Donald J. Trump administration develops its Indo-Pacific strategy, some big questions remain unresolved about not only the initiatives it will undertake, but the basic geography as well. For example, the Indo-Pacific as the Trump administration’s National Security Strategy defines it covers a geography quite different from that understood in India as the larger Indo-Pacific incorporating the entirety of the Indian Ocean. In order to realize the potential of this strategy, the Trump administration will need to reconcile differences over what constitutes this region, internally align the segmented U.S. bureaucracy to adequately address this expansive area, and determine what might be productive joint initiatives. For more on the challenges, and some of my recommendations on what can be done, see my new Council on Foreign Relations Expert Brief, “The U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy Needs More Indian Ocean.”

My book about India’s rise on the world stage, Our Time Has Come: How India Is Making Its Place in the World, was just published by Oxford University Press in January. Follow me on Twitter: @AyresAlyssa. Or like me on Facebook (fb.me/ayresalyssa) or Instagram (instagr.am/ayresalyssa).