22 June 2021

Indo-Pacific Construct: Prospects and Challenges



Indo-Pacific Construct: Prospects and Challenges

On 22 June 2021, 7:30 AM IST, Amb. Rajiv Bhatia, Distinguished Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies Programme, Gateway House delivered a lecture in a virtual session organized by the National Resilience College, Malaysia. He spoke on the topic ‘Indo Pacific Construct: Prospects and Challenges‘ and interacted with the participants.

In his lecture, he highlighted the prospect and challenges of diplomacy between India, and the Quad countries, with Malaysia, and other ASEAN countries, in the Indo-Pacific region. India’s Act East Policy (2014) aimed to expand the nation’s influence in the Indo-Pacific by building ties with ASEAN countries. India has also built a strategic maritime partnership with the Royal Malaysian Navy; this brings further opportunities for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. But the geostrategic location of Malaysia, and the other ASEAN members, make their neutralist stance inevitable.