India is strategically expanding its influence across the Indo-Pacific region, positioning itself as a key player in regional affairs. Three elements anchor the effort: development aid, trade and the diaspora. The country now has 20 Free Trade Agreement partners in the Indo-Pacific. The 21.8 million-strong Indian diaspora across the region is a significant source of soft power for India.

Over two centuries, the U.S. has amassed vast economic powers across the globe during and after the two World Wars , and sanctions slowly became an effective tool it used to achieve its foreign policy goals, becoming the global emperor of sanctions.