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Maritime Security in the Indo-Pacific: The Role of the US and its Allies

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DOI: 10.1080/09733159.2017.1321208

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 Maritime Affairs: Journal of the National Maritime
Foundation of India

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Maritime Security in the Indo-Pacific: The Role of

the US and its Allies

Prakash Gopal

To cite this article: Prakash Gopal (2017) Maritime Security in the Indo-Pacific: The Role of the US
and its Allies, Maritime Affairs: Journal of the National Maritime Foundation of India, 13:1, 27-40,
DOI: 10.1080/09733159.2017.1321208

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MARITIME AFFAIRS: JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL
MARITIME FOUNDATION OF INDIA, 2017
VOL. 13, NO. 1, 27–40
https://doi.org/10.1080/09733159.2017.1321208

Maritime Security in the Indo-Pacific: The Role of the US and its

Allies
Prakash Gopal

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
The strategic construct of the Indo-Pacific has today gained salience maritime security; Indian
due to the region becoming the centre of gravity of economic Ocean; Indo-Pacific; USN;
development and social mobility. This has been driven, to a large RAN; JMSDF; Indian Navy
extent, by commercial maritime activity and the assurance of
security on the global commons. The US has played a significant
role in the provision of this security, with Japan and Australia
emerging as vital regional partners in this effort. While the US’
presence in the region was primarily motivated by its Cold War
aim of containing communism, the post-Cold War period has
demanded a fresh approach to maritime security in the Indo-
Pacific. Transforming geo-political and strategic considerations
have, however, raised questions on the continued efficacy of this
system. With the somewhat problematic rise of China, the US,
Japan, Australia and India, as major regional maritime powers,
need to evolve a regional maritime security architecture that will
continue to support the peaceful and legitimate use of the seas.

Introduction
The centrality of the Indo-Pacific to global economic and strategic considerations is a
well-recognised and accepted premise today. While there exist justifiable reservations
on viewing this vast span of predominantly oceanic space as a single strategic con-
struct, there is no doubt that this region is a significant engine of global economic
growth. As in any other part of the world, a secure environment, and the near consen-
sus of all regional and extra-regional stakeholders to maintain the same, underpins this
economic growth.
The littoral nature of the region, and the key role played by the oceans in facilitating free
flow of trade and commerce, has lent a distinct maritime hue to the security architecture of
the region. One third of global commercial shipping and one fifth of the world’s oil pro-
duction passes through the Malacca Straits, which connects the Indian and Pacific Oceans
and is one of the busiest “chokepoints” in the world.1 The vulnerability of this maritime
feature is underscored by the fact that at its narrowest, the strait is about 2.8 km (1.5 nau-
tical miles) wide.2 Together with the straits of Sunda and Lombok, these regional “choke-
points” account for nearly half the global seaborne trade tonnage. A breach of maritime
security in the region, therefore, could severely impact free flow of shipping through
these international shipping lanes (ISL), with potentially catastrophic implications for
the global economy.

CONTACT Prakash Gopal [email protected]

© 2017 National Maritime Foundation
28 P. GOPAL

The US, as the lone superpower, and two of its regional allies, Japan and Australia, have
played varying but significant roles in the maritime security construct in this region.
Whereas US interest in the region originated in its Cold War aim of containing commun-
ism, the other two countries have emerged as major maritime players through economic
growth, development of commensurate naval power, and the evolution of national doc-
trines that promote an active engagement in regional maritime security efforts. This
paper seeks to examine the role of these countries in the maritime security architecture
of the Indo-Pacific. In doing so, it will evaluate the nature of current maritime threats
in the region, and study the individual circumstances of maritime engagement of these
countries. The paper will also discuss India’s growing contribution to security in the
Indo-Pacific, especially in the context of cooperation with the US, Japan and Australia
in the maritime domain. It will further examine the functional aspects of their maritime
security efforts, and the manner in which current events may influence these in the
near future.
China has an undoubtedly large role to play in the maritime and littoral spaces of the
Indo-Pacific. However, a description of China’s role remains beyond the scope of this
paper for reasons of brevity, and also for the fact that much of the US activity in the
region is ostensibly directed at “managing” the rise of China as a global power.

The Maritime Threat Environment in the Indo-Pacific

One of the biggest challenges in viewing a large geographical space such as the Indo-Pacific
as a single strategic construct is its diversity; of terrain, of sovereignty, and of state inter-
ests. Another factor that constrains a cooperative approach to maritime security is the
large variety of threats. For instance, in recent years, piracy has been the primary threat
to maritime security in the Western part of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).3 The strategic
discourse in the North Arabian Sea has been dominated by the rivalry between India and
Pakistan.4 In the Bay of Bengal, poaching and illegal migration prevail as the primary
threats. East of the Malacca Straits, the environment in the South and East China Seas
is primarily characterised by competing territorial claims and unresolved maritime dis-
putes, which have caused significant deterioration of the maritime security environment
over the last five years. The threat posed by North Korea casts a shadow on the stability
of the Korean peninsula. The contiguity of this region to the Pacific Ocean has also
brought to the fore the great power rivalry between the US and an emergent China. To
evolve a collaborative approach to maritime security, in such a diverse threat scenario,
is problematic to say the least.
There is, however, a strong case to be made for drawing connections, tenuous as they
may seem, across the Indo-Pacific. These are easier to internalise if this region is viewed as
a single maritime space, somewhat at the expense of continental considerations. The
importance of the maritime continuum is buttressed by the dependence of China,
Japan, South Korea, India and the Southeast Asian economies, on energy and trade that
traverse regional waters. Two thirds of global oil production transits West to East
across the Indian Ocean, into the South China Sea and beyond, and one third of global
bulk cargo crisscrosses these waters.5 The dependence of each littoral state on the assur-
ance of maritime security throughout this oceanic space cannot be over-emphasised.
 MARITIME AFFAIRS: JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL MARITIME FOUNDATION OF INDIA 29

At another level, a sizeable chunk of the population in the Indo-Pacific is dependent

on the seas for its livelihood, as well as its nutritional requirements. Asia accounts for
over 68% of the world’s fishing fleet, with China and Japan contributing a major share.6
Six of the top 10 fish-producing countries in the world are located in this region.7
Strains placed on fisher folk due to depleting fish stocks have engendered security chal-
lenges of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. These have been exacer-
bated by additional threats to food security, and the effects of climate change, which
are collectively causing displacement of the coastal populace in large numbers.8 Stra-
tegic and military considerations of security in the traditional sense have somewhat
diluted the attention being accorded to such social and economic threats, which have
the potential to cause significant turmoil in the region. This is again a common
thread running through the Indo-Pacific region, albeit with varying local causes and
effects.
The lack of homogeneity of threats in the Indo-Pacific quite obviously precludes the
adoption of a “one size fits all” solution for their mitigation. Local environmental
factors are far too unique and disjointed for such an approach to succeed. But the fact
remains that as a contiguous maritime space, with a high concentration of supply and
demand chains that are largely fulfilled in the maritime domain, a minimum level of secur-
ity is essential to sustain human development and economic growth in the region. In short,
the complexity of the problem cannot be permitted to discourage the evolution of a viable
model. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for instance, wrote, “How we translate the
growing connection between the Indian and Pacific oceans into an operational concept
is a question that we need to answer if we are to adapt to new challenges in the region”.9

The US Alliance System and Maritime Security in the Indo-Pacific

On January 9, 1992, then US President George Bush addressed a media conference in
Tokyo, alongside Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa of Japan. The Bush–Miyazawa
summit came at a critical period, exactly a year after the collapse of the erstwhile Soviet
Union, and the resultant end of the Cold War. President Bush was emphatic in reaffirming
the importance of the US–Japan alliance to the world in general, and stability in East Asia
in particular:
The US–Japan security treaty remains the core of stability in East Asia, a region still beset with
the uncertainties of a world in profound change.

… as we enter the post-Cold-War era with its many challenges and opportunities, increased
cooperation between the United States and Japan on global issues and regional problems is
absolutely essential to achieve the foreign policy objectives of both countries.10

Two and a half decades later, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to the US, the first in
President Trump’s tenure, was being watched with equal interest around the world. It
gained publicity for all the wrong reasons such as the unusually long handshake, and
the Trump administration’s national security discussions in public view at his resort in
Palm Beach, Florida.11 However the outcome of the visit assuaged widespread apprehen-
sions. While President Trump termed the US relationship with Japan “very deep”, the joint
statement retained many of the assurances made 25 years ago, under vastly different
circumstances:
30 P. GOPAL

The unshakable US–Japan Alliance is the cornerstone of peace, prosperity, and freedom in the
Asia-Pacific region. The US commitment to defend Japan through the full range of US military
capabilities, both nuclear and conventional, is unwavering.

Amid an increasingly difficult security environment in the Asia-Pacific region, the United
States will strengthen its presence in the region, and Japan will assume larger roles and respon-
sibilities in the alliance.12

While evaluating the role of the US and its Asian allies in promoting maritime security
in the Indo-Pacific, the centrality of mutual defence pacts between them cannot be
ignored. The treaty commitments the US has entered into with regional countries form
the strategic backdrop for its continued presence since the end of the Second World
War. The US perceived forward deployment of its assets, riding on the back of this alliance
system, to be the most effective means for the containment of communism in the Cold
War years. This helped the US overcome the “tyranny of distance” and made the US
into what the erstwhile secretary of defense Robert Gates called “a resident power in
East Asia”.13
Much has changed, however, in the post-War alliance architecture. The US created the
Southeast Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO) in 1954.14 It was meant to be a North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)-equivalent structure for the region, created with
the intention of containing communism. Unlike NATO, however, SEATO had a
limited collective operational framework. Despite its name, it had only two Southeast
Asian countries as members (Philippines and Thailand), and Pakistan was the third
Asian member among the eight member countries. This factor gave rise to the suspicion
that it was more a neo-imperialistic organisation than one that addressed the security con-
cerns of its member states.15 Opposition to the US war in Vietnam, and Pakistan’s disil-
lusionment at lack of support from the organisation in its 1971 war with India, finally led
to the disintegration of SEATO, with its inevitable formal dissolution in 1977.16
The Mutual Defense Treaty between the US and the Republic of China (ROC) in
Taiwan was signed on 2 December 1954. Coming close in the wake of the Korean War,
this treaty put an end to the uncertainty of the US’ commitment to come to the defense
of ROC against a hostile People’s Republic of China (PRC).17 The US, under the Carter
administration, terminated the mutual defense treaty with Taiwan in 1979 as a condition
for establishing diplomatic relations with the PRC. In lieu of this it enacted the Taiwan
Relations Act (TRA) of 1979, through which it retains an implicit, if somewhat ambiguous,
commitment to help Taiwan resist the use of force by the PRC. The ambiguity is further
amplified by the fact that the US neither recognises Taiwan nor has any diplomatic
relations with the country.18 Recent actions and pronouncements from the Trump admin-
istration, which indicate the possibility of Taiwan being used as a bargaining chip to rede-
fine the parameters of US relations with China, further muddy the waters on either side of
the Taiwan Strait.19
The US’ Mutual Defense Treaty with Philippines, signed in 1951, saw turbulent times in
the early 1990s after a series of circumstances ended US use of Clark Air Base and the
Subic Bay Naval Base.20 The US military’s engagement with the Philippines, however, con-
tinued, and a new Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) was signed in
2014. This has also hit a rough patch in recent times, with President Duterte’s outbursts
against the US, and the somewhat perplexing signals originating from Manila on the
 MARITIME AFFAIRS: JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL MARITIME FOUNDATION OF INDIA 31

future of the Philippines’ security partnership with its ally. The US now maintains a
rotational presence of troops in bases across the Philippines, and is in the process of build-
ing three of the five military bases that it has committed to develop under the EDCA.21
The US–Republic of Korea (ROK) security alliance has played a decisive role in main-
taining peace on the Korean Peninsula. It is focused on the North Korea challenge, a Cold
War conflict that has refused to go away. The US currently maintains about 28,000 troops
in South Korea – the largest concentration of American forces on the Asian mainland – as
well as a significant number of combat aircraft.22 The recent decision to deploy the Term-
inal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on the Peninsula has drawn sharp reac-
tions from China, adding another dimension to the alliance that is otherwise targeted at
Pyongyang.23 While both the ROK and US have attempted to dispel Chinese misgivings
on the deployment of this system, there exists the prospect of an arms race that could
further deteriorate the security environment. This could add to the fragility that exists,
in significant part, due to the dangerous eccentricity of the Kim regime in North Korea.
Not all of the US defense alliances in the region have withstood the test of time and
changing circumstances. For instance, the pact with Thailand is steeped in an uncertain
future. Though there are periodic military exercises, the political turmoil in the country,
and its decidedly pro-China tilt in recent times, have virtually sounded the “Last Post”
for this partnership.24 New Zealand’s participation in the Australia–New Zealand–US
(ANZUS) treaty was suspended in the mid-1980s, when the island country refused to
allow US nuclear-powered and -armed ships to enter its ports.25 The last five years
have witnessed a thaw in the relationship, with the resumption of a defence dialogue
under the ANZUS umbrella.26
The US–Japan and US–Australia alliance commitments have survived, and even flour-
ished, through the somewhat tumultuous geo-strategic and economic developments in the
region. In Japan the US maintains nearly 50,000 defence personnel as well as a carrier
battle group (CBG) and the III Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF).27 These are sup-
plemented by substantial operational and support infrastructure across Japan, especially
in Okinawa. US presence in Australia includes a rotational marine detachment in
Darwin and access to a number of joint military communication and surveillance facili-
ties.28 Regular joint operations and exercises over a period of time, together with signifi-
cant commonality of doctrines and equipment, have ensured a high degree of
interoperability between the US and host militaries. This is especially true in the maritime
domain as the expeditionary nature of US forces in the region places primacy on seaborne
operations for both security and benign operations.
Outside of its treaty commitments, the US has developed extensive military ties with
other countries as well. Singapore in particular is noteworthy, as not only do the Singapore
Armed Forces (SAF) exercise frequently with their US counterparts, but the city state also
hosts the US Navy’s littoral combat ships (LCS) and an F-16 squadron on rotation.29 In
recent years, there has also been a renewed focus on exercises with other countries in
the region, such as India and Indonesia. While the Malabar series of naval exercises
with India and Japan have become a permanent annual feature, the need to enhance secur-
ity ties with Indonesia has led to the recent revival of military exercises with the archipe-
lagic nation.30
All the forward-deployed military assets are supported by the largest and oldest of the
unified US Commands, the Pacific Command (PACOM) based out of Hawaii, as well as
32 P. GOPAL

the combat and support elements at Guam. As the joint Command, which has the entire
Indo-Pacific in its Area of Responsibility (AoR), the PACOM’s charter was expected to be
critical for the successful execution of the military component of the “pivot” or “rebalance”
to Asia.31 But as the rebalance strategy itself is being brought into question today, the
manner in which PACOM’s strategy for the Indo-Pacific will evolve remains to be seen.
There is widespread acceptance of the fact that the presence of US forces in the region
over the past seven decades has been a defining factor in the regional security landscape. In
the maritime domain, it has promoted free flow of trade and commerce, and has under-
pinned the economic growth of regional countries. The US’ alliance commitments have
also allowed its allies the luxury of reduced military spending, as gaps in their military
capabilities were often plugged by US assets and forces. Without doubt, the remarkable
rise of Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asian economies may largely be attributed to
regional maritime security underwritten by the US and its military forces in the Indo-
Pacific.32

Japan’s Influence on Maritime Security in the Indo-Pacific

For Japan, the primary post-war consideration was economic reconstruction, “divorced
from any considerations of ideology”. The Yoshida doctrine prioritised the pursuit of
trade-led economic growth as a foundation for domestic stability and a minimal poli-
tico-military footprint overseas, based on a political and military alignment with the
US.33 So, while this may have led to an arguable dilution of sovereignty, it paved the
way for four decades of prosperity and unparalleled economic growth.
With growing economic might, the ability of Japan to maintain a purely reactionary
self-defensive posture diminished significantly. As an export-led economy, Japan found
an increasing need to protect its commercial shipping interests, and also its long energy
supply lines from the Middle East.34 Japan also found it expedient to raise its maritime
profile, with naval forces operating out of public sight, therefore incurring reduced
social and political costs.35 Its first public articulation to this effect was made by Hideo
Sekino, a commander in the Imperial Japanese Navy, who wrote an article on the role
of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) in the United States Naval Institute
(USNI) proceedings in 1971. He postulated that Japan would be able to maintain econ-
omic access to Southeast Asia, the Americas and the Oceania only through a mix of diplo-
macy and the cooperation of American and Australian seapower.36
Japanese maritime security activity is today driven by three major challenges: first, the
fact that its dependence on the Middle East sea lines of communication (SLOC) will con-
tinue into the foreseeable future; second, its maritime territorial disputes with China and
Taiwan over the Senkaku Islands; and, third, the threat posed by North Korea.37 Built
around a national character of shunning offensive warfare and under the shadow of con-
stitutional restrictions, the JMSDF has been a force focused around anti-submarine
warfare (ASW) and anti-mine warfare.38 Recent years have, however, witnessed a distinct
augmentation in the capabilities of the JMSDF, which makes it a veritable regional naval
power.
There is today an animated and somewhat polarised debate in Japan, over the current
interpretation of its constitution and,the move towards revising it, or at the very least mod-
ifying the manner in which it is understood. This is primarily due to the fact that the
 MARITIME AFFAIRS: JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL MARITIME FOUNDATION OF INDIA 33

nature of maritime threats that Japan seeks to address require the JMSDF to adopt a more
proactive stance. As Okazaki Hisahiko, a former ambassador to Thailand, said, the “Fin-
landisation” of littoral states in the SCS by an assertive China is a major security concern
for Japan – one that would require the JMSDF to equip and prepare itself suitably.39
The JMSDF, while fulfilling a largely “homeland defence” role, has been maintaining a
continuous anti-piracy mission presence in the Gulf of Aden since 2009.40 It exercises
extensively with the US Navy, and has now become a permanent partner in the
Malabar series of exercises with US and India. In addition to its naval capability, Japan
relies extensively on maritime capacity building and diplomacy, to assure security. Its offi-
cial development assistance (ODA) is a major diplomatic and economic tool, which has
been deployed with significant success, especially in the Bay of Bengal region (the BIG-
B initiative).41
While increasing military and nuclear adventurism of North Korea, and the maritime
territorial disputes with China and Taiwan, keep the JMSDF engaged in its immediate
neighbourhood, it continues to rely on a robust alliance commitment from the US to
ensure security in the maritime commons. There is, however, an inexorable move from
Japan to attain greater self-sufficiency in its ability to protect its interests anywhere in
the world.42 How these efforts will take shape will largely be governed by domestic,
social and political factors in the coming years.

Australia and the Indo-Pacific

Australia first articulated the strategic importance of the Indo-Pacific construct in the
National Security Strategy document of 2013. This document makes the distinction
between the “Asia-Pacific” and the “Indo-Pacific” and states that while these two terms
complement each other, “they are both useful frames through which to view Australia’s
national security interests”.43 This thread is carried on and expanded in the Defence
White Paper of 2013, which based Australia’s security environment on the manner in
which the Indo-Pacific architecture evolved.44 These pronouncements logically extend
Australia’s view of the strategic environment, from the relatively proximate Asia-
Pacific, to the larger maritime Indo-Pacific.
Australia envisages the fulfillment of its maritime security role through its alliance with
the US, and by means of building meaningful partnerships with regional countries. Not-
withstanding the somewhat wobbly start to the relationship between Prime Minister
Malcom Turnbill and President Trump, the Australian strategic community relies on
the strength of its alliance with the US, to endure the stresses that may be created by indi-
viduals in a particular administration.45 This has been a bipartisan strain through the Aus-
tralian political establishment, from the Labor administration to the current National
Coalition government. However, with a significant degree of uncertainty in the extent
of US engagement with its allies, there is a renewed call in Australia to forge stronger part-
nerships with other regional countries such as Japan and India.
In contrast to the uncertainty of US foreign policy for the Indo-Pacific, US military
presence in Australia is set to increase in the coming years. The US maintains a rotational
deployment of over a thousand marines and combat aircraft at Darwin.46 It also has access
to communications facilities in the Australian hinterland, operating a major joint defence
facility at Pine Gap in Alice Springs. The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has sought to
34 P. GOPAL

acquire capabilities that complement those of the US, conforming to a strategy that relies
largely on joint war-fighting. For instance, while Australia does not have, nor intends to
acquire in the near future, ship-borne fighter aircraft, its Canberra-class Landing Helicop-
ter Dock (LHD) ships are equipped with a ski jump to cater for possible operation of the F-
35B, Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft from its deck.47 The ADF’s relationship with its US
counterpart is rooted in strong historical ties, forged through shared operational experi-
ences since World War I. This is likely to continue, even through the period of uncertainty
in the future contours of US foreign policy.
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has been a significant stakeholder and participant in
maritime security operations in the Indo-Pacific region. It has been a permanent contri-
butor to the US-led Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), deployed in West and Southwest
Asia. Closer to home, the RAN has spearheaded regional defence cooperation through its
Pacific Patrol Boat Program, an initiative launched in the 1980s to enable smaller Pacific
Island countries to secure their maritime zones.48 The Australian Border Force (ABF) also
conducts joint operations and capacity-building programmes with a number of neigh-
bouring littoral countries. This regional cooperative outlook of Australia’s maritime secur-
ity strategy is also evident in its active participation in Humanitarian Assistance and
Disaster Relief (HADR), and search and rescue (SAR) operations in its immediate mari-
time neighbourhood. The Australia-led search for the crashed MH-370 Malaysian airliner
is an example.
Australia’s regional engagement approach to maritime security is driven by its doctrinal
articulations. The 2016 Defence White Paper states that Australia’s security is under-
pinned by two major factors, viz. a “secure” near region including maritime Southeast
Asia and the South Pacific, and a “stable” Indo-Pacific region and global rules-based
order. Accordingly, two of its three strategic defence objectives also pertain to making
regional and extra-regional contributions to maritime security efforts.49 While this doc-
trine is likely to endure geopolitical shifts in the security calculus, there is a perceived
need to evolve a new strategy which will enable the achievement of Australia’s security
objectives.

The India Connection

India’s increasing importance to the maritime security architecture of the Indo-Pacific is
driven by three major factors. First, India’s rapid economic growth in recent years has
served to highlight the critical role of “good order at sea” in enabling it. Second, is a leader-
ship-driven focus on maritime affairs, which has gradually supplanted the dominant con-
tinental focus since independence; and, third, the growing capabilities of the Indian Navy,
which have allowed the maritime force to serve as an effective foreign policy tool for suc-
cessive governments in New Delhi. Coupled with the somewhat troublesome rise of China,
these factors have resulted in a progressively increasing and important role for India in the
maritime security dynamics of the Indo-Pacific region.
That fact that India enjoys a broad commonality of interests with the US, Japan and
Australia makes it easier to evolve an architecture for these countries to adopt a colla-
borative approach to regional maritime security efforts. While there are legacy chal-
lenges to be overcome, it may be useful to refer to the distinction made between
“common perception of interest” and “perception of common interest”, albeit in a
 MARITIME AFFAIRS: JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL MARITIME FOUNDATION OF INDIA 35

different context.50 Focusing on the former is more likely to make a positive contribution
to regional security initiatives.
India–US ties attained unprecedented heights during the second term of President
Obama, and the present Narendra Modi government. In the last month of his admin-
istration, President Obama signed legislation recognising India as a “Major Defense
Partner”, a designation that promises to facilitate much cooperation and collaboration
in defence ties.51 The US’ Asia-Pacific Maritime Security Strategy sees a strategic con-
vergence between the US “rebalance” to the region and India’s “Act East” policy. It
dwells at some length on upgrading the bilateral maritime security partnership and
reinforcing India’s maritime capabilities as a net security provider in the IOR and
beyond:
In South Asia, the Department sees a strategic convergence between India’s “Act East” policy
and the US rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region, and we are seeking to reinforce India’s mar-
itime capabilities as a net provider of security in the Indian Ocean region and beyond. Given
our broad shared interests in maritime security, the Department has developed a three-pronged
approach to maritime cooperation with India: maintaining a shared vision on maritime secur-
ity issues; upgrading the bilateral maritime security partnership; and collaborating to both
build regional partner capacity and improve regional maritime domain awareness.52

India–Japan maritime cooperation has also received a significant fillip in recent years,
driven primarily by political will and closer India–US ties. It is somewhat revealing, if
not ironic, that the Indian Coast Guard has periodic exercises with its counterparts in
Japan and ROK, while it does not have such an arrangement with many countries in
its immediate neighbourhood.53 Japan’s National Defense Program Guidelines talk
about strengthening cooperation with India in the field of maritime security, through
joint training, exercises and peacekeeping activities. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
visited Delhi in December 2015, and Prime Minister Modi visited Japan in November
2016. The joint statements issued on both occasions highlight the considered need for
both countries to work together, for stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region.54
Both leaders have also reaffirmed their confidence in the “2+2” dialogue mechanism
between India and Japan, and their intention to utilise this framework for greater secur-
ity cooperation.55
The potential for maritime cooperation between India and Australia has thus far
remained largely unfulfilled. While this may be partly attributable to divergent views on
certain issues, and political relations that have oscillated between cold and lukewarm,
there is now a mutual appreciation of the need for India and Australia to engage more
meaningfully. This is especially relevant, and relatively easier to achieve, in the maritime
domain, as they share similar concerns on freedom and security of the commons. There
has been significant yet cautious forward movement in this area, with the first bilateral
naval exercise, AUSINDEX, being conducted in 2015.56 There are also indications of inter-
est on both sides in including Australia in the “Malabar” series of exercises again. At the
operational level, there have been regular naval and Coast Guard exchanges at multiple
levels, together with port calls on both sides. So, while the India–US–Japan–Australia
“quadrilateral” may have failed to take off in 2007–2008, primarily due to concerns of Aus-
tralia, it is quite likely that such an arrangement in a new avatar may emerge in the near
future.
36 P. GOPAL

Challenges and Future Outlook

The Indo-Pacific presents significant strategic challenges, one of which is the question of
the US’ continued engagement in the region.
The value and relevance of an alliance system that was evolved in the Cold War period
may need to be reassessed. During the Cold War, communism, and by association the erst-
while Soviet Union, were the adversaries for America and its allies. It is difficult to define a
common adversary or enemy today. While it may not be theoretically necessary for a
common adversary to shape the contours of an alliance, the security-based nature of
the current alliance system probably requires one to be defined.
It can be argued that China’s non-conformity to the established international order
may be a common concern for the region. But, at the same time, it will be extremely dif-
ficult to label China as a common adversary, in the classical sense. One of the main reasons
for that today is the globalised nature of the world. The economic interconnectedness of all
major regional economies, and US allies with China, does not permit a simplified view of
China, with a black and white, or a friend or foe, prism. Table 1 highlights57 the economic
interdependence of the US’ Asian allies, and India, with China. For all these countries,
China is the top trading partner (goods and services combined), and all these countries
are among the top 11 trading partners for China. This stark economic interdependence
does not easily permit the classification of China as an adversary by these countries.
The uncertainty in US foreign policy under the Trump administration is another major
aspect that the region has to deal with today. Before Secretary of State Tillerson’s first visit
to Asia in March 2017, the State Department spokesperson made it clear that the Trump
administration will not use the terms “pivot” or “rebalance”.58 In all likelihood, the US will
not replace the centrality of the Indo-Pacific to its foreign policy, and the new adminis-
tration will continue the “rebalance” or “pivot” in a new branding.
For some time now, there has been significant debate in the US for the country to
assume a less “forward” foreign policy.59 The Trump administration has also recently
announced significant cuts to the State Department budget, and an increase in the military
budget, which appears to be arguably dichotomous. The US military, more than any other
armed force in the world, has primarily been an instrument of the country’s foreign policy.
If there is a move to disrupt the international order that the US has so far promoted, there
may not be a sound basis for an increase in its military budget, considering the lack of
credible threat to the continental US. As the Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop
said on March 13, 2017 in Singapore, the Indo-Pacific region is in a “strategic holding
pattern and waiting to see whether the United States and its security allies and partners
can continue to play the robust and constructive role that they have for many decades
in preserving the peace”.60

Table 1. Data on China’s Trade with US allies and India.

Bilateral trade with Ranking of China as Ranking of country with respect
Country China (USD billion) trading partner to China’s trading figures
USA 618.7 I I
Japan 269.7 I II
ROK 227.3 I III
Australia 107.3 I VII
India 71.1 I XI
 MARITIME AFFAIRS: JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL MARITIME FOUNDATION OF INDIA 37

Japan faces significant domestic opposition to adopting a foreign and security policy
that is alien to its strategic culture, and at odds with its constitution. While there have
been moves to reinterpret the constitution so as to allow Japanese forces, especially the
JMSDF, a more international outlook, the ruling dispensation will have to expend signifi-
cant political capital to achieve this.61 Prime Minister Abe has demonstrated his resolve in
this direction, in his short Prime Ministerial term in 2007, and now since 2012. However,
the extent to which he will succeed remains to be seen. What will also influence this shift
from a history of pacifism is the confidence that Japan will have in the Trump adminis-
tration and, by association, the US to uphold its defense treaty commitments.
For Australia and India, a more active engagement with the maritime region is not con-
strained by political will, at least in the immediate future. A greater challenge for these
countries is the lack of adequate capacity to fulfill a regional maritime security
mandate, and to some extent, especially for India, to create the necessary doctrinal
enablers to assume greater roles in this domain. There is, however, a widespread recog-
nition of the necessity, and indeed the inevitability, for these countries to work towards
evolving a cooperative maritime security architecture that continues to promote and
enable the peaceful use of the seas for legitimate purposes.

Conclusion
There is without doubt, a strong case to be made for the continued presence and involve-
ment of the US in the Indo-Pacific region, and for Japan, Australia and India to assume a
more active role in promoting maritime security in the region. But there is also the fact
that historical alliances need to evolve into contemporary partnerships, capable of
meeting the challenges of the current era. Much has been said about the transition
from a US-centric system to a more mini-lateral, smaller grouping system, driven not
by common ideologies but by shared interests and concerns of regional countries. Such
smaller groupings could mitigate the handicap that large structures such as the Associ-
ation of Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN) face in building consensus amongst
diverse national and economic interests.
The US today is well entrenched in the region – to the extent that it is almost impossible
to call it an extra-regional player. In the unlikely scenario that the new political dispensa-
tion in Washington, DC, chooses to extricate itself from the Indo-Pacific, and withdraw
closer to Hawaii, Japan, Australia and India will have to assume a much larger role in
the regional system, to ensure that the Indo-Pacific continues to reap the economic and
social rewards of free and secure seas.

Notes
1. Qiang Meng and Xiaobo Qu, “The Economic Importance of the Straits of Malacca and Sin-
gapore: An Extreme-Scenario Analysis,” Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Trans-
portation Review, 48, no. 1 (2012): 258.
2. Ibid.
3. Andrew C. Winner, “Transnational Security,” in Indo-Pacific Maritime Security in the 21st
Century, ed. Thomas G. Mahnken (Sydney: Lowy Institute and US Naval War College,
2011), pp. 19–20.
38 P. GOPAL

4. Tom Hussain, “How India–Pakistan Tensions (and US–China Rivalry) Are Raising Nuclear
Stakes,” South China Morning Post, http://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/
2026150/how-india-pakistan-tensions-and-us-china-rivalry-are-raising (accessed March
10, 2017).
5. Meng and Qu, “Economic Importance of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore,” pp. 258–9.
6. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, The State of World Fisheries and
Aquaculture: Opportunities and Challenges (Rome: FAO, 2014), p. 6.
7. Ibid., p. 10.
8. Lee Goddard, “Regional Security Challenges,” in Indo-Pacific Maritime Security in the 21st
Century, ed. Thomas G. Mahnken (Sydney: Lowy Institute and US Naval War College,
2011), p. 25.
9. Hilary Clinton, “America’s Pacific Century,” http://foreignpolicy.com/2011/10/11/americas-
pacific-century/ (accessed March 12, 2017).
10. Gerhard Peters and John T. Wooley, “The President’s News Conference with Prime Minister
Kiichi Miyazawa of Japan in Tokyo,” http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=
20437 (accessed March 12, 2017).
11. Sheila Smith, “A Successful Meeting between Trump and Abe as America Is ‘Behind Japan,
100%’,” Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/sheilaasmith/2017/02/13/behind-japan-100/
#1672d20d3f66 (accessed March 10, 2017).
12. The White House – Office of the Press Secretary, “Joint Statement from President Donald
J. Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe,” News Release, February 10, 2017, https://www.
whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/02/10/joint-statement-president-donald-j-trump-
and-prime-minister-shinzo-abe (accessed March 15, 2017).
13. Richard Bush, “America’s Alliances and Security Partnerships in East Asia: Introduction,”
Brookings Institute, https://www.brookings.edu/research/americas-alliances-and-security-
partnerships-in-east-asia-introduction/ (accessed March 17, 2017).
14. State Department Office of the Historian, “Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO),
1954,” https://history.state.gov/milestones/1953-1960/seato (accessed March 10, 2017).
15. Ibid.
16. Ibid.
17. Richard Bush, “The United States Security Partnership with Taiwan,” Brookings Institute,
https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-united-states-security-partnership-with-taiwan/
(accessed March 5, 2017).
18. Ibid.
19. Michael H. Fuchs, “Trump’s China Policy Is a Paper Tiger,” http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/
02/22/trumps-china-policy-is-a-paper-tiger/ (accessed March 19, 2017).
20. Sheena Chestnut Greitens, “The US–Philippine Alliance in a Year of Transition: Challenges
and Opportunities,” Brookings Institute, https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-u-s-
philippine-alliance-in-a-year-of-transition-challenges-and-opportunities/ (accessed March
10, 2017).
21. Ibid.
22. Evans Revere, “The US–RoK Alliance: Projecting US Power and Preserving Stability in
Northeast Asia,” Brookings Institute, https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-u-s-rok-
alliance-projecting-u-s-power-and-preserving-stability-in-northeast-asia/ (accessed March
21, 2017).
23. Indo-Asian News Service (IANS), “S. Korea Dismisses China’s Concern on THAAD Deploy-
ment,” Business Standard, January 3, 2017.
24. Bush, “America’s Alliances and Security Partnerships in East Asia: Introduction.”
25. US Department of State Archives, “The Australia, New Zealand and United States Security
Treaty (ANZUS Treaty), 1951,” https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/cwr/102768.htm
(accessed March 2, 2017).
26. Vojtech Mastny, “Australia and New Zealand from Alliance to Realignment,” The Chinese
Journal of International Politics, 8, no. 4 (2015): p. 417.
 MARITIME AFFAIRS: JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL MARITIME FOUNDATION OF INDIA 39

27. John Allen and Benjamin Sugg, “The US Japan Alliance,” Brookings Institute, https://www.
brookings.edu/research/the-u-s-japan-alliance/ (accessed March 10, 2017).
28. Rory Medcalf, “Australia and the United States: Navigating Strategic Uncertainty,” Brookings
Institute, https://www.brookings.edu/research/australia-and-the-united-states-navigating-
strategic-uncertainty/ (accessed March 8, 2017).
29. Lynn Kuok, “The US–Singapore Partnership: A Critical Element of US Engagement and
Stability in the Asia-Pacific,” Brookings Institute, https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-
u-s-singapore-partnership-a-critical-element-of-u-s-engagement-and-stability-in-the-asia-
pacific/ (accessed March 12, 2017).
30. Dakota L. Wood, ed., 2017 Index of Us Military Strength (Washington, DC: The Heritage
Foundation, 2016).
31. Ibid., p. 142.
32. Ash Carter, “The Rebalance and Asia-Pacific Security: Building a Principled Security
Network,” Foreign Affairs, 95, no. 6 (2016), p. 65.
33. Bert Edström, “The Yoshida Doctrine and the Unipolar World,” Japan Forum 16, no. 1
(2004): 64–5.
34. Naoko Sajima and Kyoichi Tachikawa, Japanese Seapower: A Maritime Nation’s Struggle for
Identity, Foundations of International Thinking on Seapower (Australia: Sea Power Center,
2009), p. 76.
35. Euan Graham, Japan’s Sea Lane Security, 1940–2004 (New York: Routledge, 2006), p. 98.
36. Hideo Sekino, “Japan and Her Maritme Defense,” USNI Proceedings, 97, no. 5 (1971), p. 119.
37. Government of Japan, “National Defense Program Guidelines for FY 2014 and Beyond,”
http://www.mod.go.jp/j/approach/agenda/guideline/2014/pdf/20131217_e2.pdf (accessed
March 21, 2017).
38. Graham, Japan’s Sea Lane Security, 1940–2004, p. 118.
39. Ibid., p. 215.
40. Keitaro Ushirogata, “Japan’s Commitment to Indian Ocean Security: A Vitally Important
Highway, but Risks of Strategic Overextension?,” in Indo-Pacific Maritime Security: Chal-
lenges and Cooperation, ed. David Brewster (Acton: National Security College, ANU,
2016), p. 63.
41. Lam Peng Er, “Japan’s Human Security and Peace-Building: Between Aspirations and Limit-
ations,” in Japan’s Strategic Challenges in a Changing Regional Environment, ed. Purnendra
Jain and Lam Peng Er (Singapore: World Scientific, 2013), p. 190.
42. Kevin M. Doak, “Abe at the Crossroads: Isis, Yoshida, and Japan’s Foreign Policy Future,”
http://journal.georgetown.edu/abe-at-the-crossroads-isis-yoshida-and-japans-foreign-
policy-future/ (accessed March 25, 2017).
43. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Australian Government, “Strong and Secure:
A Strategy for Australia’s National Security,” (Canberra: Government of Australia, 2013),
p. 30.
44. Department of Defence, Australian Government, Defence White Paper 2013 (Canberra: Gov-
ernment of Australia, 2013), p. 7.
45. Gareth Hutchens, “Malcolm Turnbull Says Trump Phone Call Worked in Australia’s
Favour,” The Guardian, February 5, 2017.
46. Medcalf, “Australia and the United States: Navigating Strategic Uncertainty.”
47. David Baddams, “Proximity Means Capability: Operating F-35Bs from the Canberra-Class
LHDs,” http://www.defence.gov.au/whitepaper/docs/082-Baddams.pdf (accessed March 29,
2017).
48. Linda McCann, The Future of Australia’s Pacific Patrol Boat Program: The Pacific Maritime
Security Program, Shedden Papers (Canberra, Commonwealth of Australia, 2013).
49. Department of Defence, Australian Government, 2016 Defence White Paper (Canberra: Gov-
ernment of Australia, 2016), pp. 74–5.
50. This distinction was introduced by Dr Martin Sherman, the Executive Director of the Israel
Institute of Strategic Studies, in the context of India–Israel bilateral relations. See Martin
 40 P. GOPAL

Sherman, “Indo–Israeli Strategic Cooperation as a US National Interest,” http://www.acpr.

org.il/pp/pp089-shermane.pdf (accessed March 1, 2017).
51. US Department of Defense, “Joint India–United States Statement on the Visit of Secretary of
Defense Carter to India,” News Release, December 8, 2016, https://www.defense.gov/News/
News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1024228/joint-india-united-states-statement-
on-the-visit-of-secretary-of-defense-carter (accessed March 12, 2017).
52. Department of Defense, USA, The Asia-Pacific Maritime Security Strategy: Achieving US
National Security Objectives in a Changing Environment (Washington, DC: Department of
Defense, 2015), p. 28.
53. The Indian Coast Guard conducts annual bilateral exercises, “Sahyog-Kaijin” and “Sahyog-
Hyeoblyeog”, with the Japanese and Korean Coast Guards, respectively. It also has MoUs
with a number of international agencies for cooperation in maritime law enforcement. See
http://www.indiancoastguard.gov.in/content/1732_3_MoU.aspx (accessed March 23, 2017).
54. See Government of India, Ministry of External Affairs, “Joint Statement on India–Japan
Vision 2025: Special Strategic and Global Partnership Working Together for Peace and Pre-
osperity of the Indo-Pacific Region and the World,” News Release, December 12, 2015,
http://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/26176/Joint_Statement_on_India_
and_Japan_Vision_2025_Special_Strategic_and_Global_Partnership_Working_Together_
for_Peace_and_Prosperity_of_the_IndoPacific_R. (accessed March 14, 2017); and “India–
Japan Joint Statement During the Visit of Prime Minister to Japan,” News Release, November
11, 2016, http://mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/27599/IndiaJapan+Joint+Statement
+during+the+visit+of+Prime+Minister+to+Japan (accessed March 14, 2017).
55. “India–Japan Joint Statement During the Visit of Prime Minister to Japan.”
56. The next edition of AUSINDEX is scheduled to be held in the first half of 2018, as announced
during the recent visit of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to India. See “India–Australia
Joint Statement During the State Visit of Prime Minister of Australia to India,” News
Release, April 10, 2017, http://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/28367/
IndiaAustralia_Joint_Statement_during_the_State_visit_of_Prime_Minister_of_Australia_
to_India (accessed April 12, 2017).
57. Data is for 2015. Tables generated at http://wits.worldbank.org/ (accessed March 17, 2017).
58. US Department of State, “A Preview of Secretary Tillerson’s Upcoming Travel to Asia,” News
Release, March 13, 2017, https://fpc.state.gov/268444.htm (accessed March 19, 2017).
59. Barry R. Posen, “Pull Back: The Case for a Less Activist Foreign Policy,” Foreign Affairs, 92,
no. 1 (2013), pp. 116–28.
60. See text of speech by Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Ms Julie Bishop, titled “Change
and Uncertainty in the Indo-Pacific: Strategic Challenges and Opportunities,” at the 28th IISS
Fullerton Lecture, Singapore, http://foreignminister.gov.au/speeches/Pages/2017/jb_sp_
170313a.aspx (accessed March 25, 2017).
61. Justin McCurry, “Japan Could Change Pacifist Constitution after Shinzo Abe Victory,” The
Guardian, July 11, 2016.

Notes on contributor
Prakash Gopal is a serving Indian Naval Officer, and a research fellow at the National Maritime
Foundation, Delhi. Views expressed in the article are his own and are not the official position of
the Indian Government, the Indian Navy, or the National Maritime Foundation. He can be
reached at [email protected]

ORCID
Prakash Gopal http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1954-1689

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