- India has set up an Indo-Pacific division in the foreign office.The new division is intended to give a coherent architecture to the Indo Pacific policy,which was articulated by the prime minister at the Shangri-La Dialogue in 2018.
- The division will integrate the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA),Asean region and the Quad to the Indo-Pacific table.The US also recently renamed its Pacific Command to the Indo-Pacific Command as it seeks to give significance to its Indo-Pacific policy.
- India is also planning to put greater energy to the IORA because the heart of its Indo-Pacific policy is rooted in the Indian Ocean.This will integrate the blue economy part of the Indian policy with the security part which is a trilateral security mechanism between India,Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
- The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) is an international organisation consisting of coastal states bordering the Indian Ocean.The Association comprises 21 member states and 9 dialogue partners.The Coordinating Secretariat of IORA is located at Ebene,Mauritius.
- The Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) is an intergovernmental security forum held annually by an independent think tank,the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore.The Shangri-La Dialogue has evolved into a key strategic gathering of the Asia-Pacific region.It is attended by defense ministers,permanent heads of ministries and military chiefs of Asia-Pacific states.
