♤ The emergence of the Indo-Pacific as a new geopolitical frame of reference is embedded in the growing strategic importance of the maritime domain and the rise of states that have demonstrated the ability to ‘transcend’ their respective sub-regions.

♤ The term “Indo-Pacific” has long been in vogue among marine biologists and ichthyologists to define the stretch of water from the tropical Indian Ocean, through the equatorial seas around the Indonesian archipelago, the South China Sea, and to the western and central Pacific Ocean.

♤ In geopolitical terms it has come in vogue in the early 21st century and, predictably, has proved to be far more contentious than its scientific definition.

♤ It was first brought up by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2007 in a speech to the Indian Parliament to represent the vast swathe of water that connects the Pacific and the Indian Oceans.

♤ It has recently got some traction after Rex Tillerson, the US Secretary of State, used it in a major policy speech in Washington. Trump in his visit to China also referred to the Indo- Pacific.

♤ The first ever use of the term in the National Security Strategy Document of the USA, released in 2017, has provided the term new salience.

♤ Against this backdrop, efforts to rejuvenate the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (or the “Quad”) between Australia, India, Japan and the US on the sidelines of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the East Asia Summit (EAS) in Manila in 2017 is of notable significance.

♤ The rise and increasing assertion of China has provided the current context for the salince the term has acquired in geo-strategic circles.