Maritime Security in the Indo-Pacific: Assessing the Role of Key State Actors

Author: Anto Mariya M M

Introduction

The Indo-Pacific is a maritime region which has become an arena for geopolitical competition. The region has become the contemporary strategic interest of state as well as non-state actors. With the challenges of territorial disputes, IUU fishing and piracy, cooperation for maritime security becomes imperative (Maritime Security – Pacific Forum, 2024). Power politics also play out in the region. Maritime security can mean the strategies adopted to safeguard the maritime infrastructure from vulnerabilities. It encompasses a range of activities aimed at safeguarding maritime assets, ensuring the safety and security of trade routes, and preventing illicit activities at sea (Windward, 2024). Major powers like the USA and China, as well as regional players like India and Japan, have a strategic interest in safeguarding the maritime region of the volatile Indo-Pacific. Even the often-ignored small island and littoral states play an important role. This article examines the roles of different state actors from a broad power spectrum in the region’s maritime security.

Role of State Actors

• United States

The United States has the largest military presence in the Indo-Pacific region, sustained by its naval bases and fleets. The US’s presence in the region started primarily as a move to curtail communism in the area during the Cold War (Gopal, 2017). However, the United States’ interests have widened, and so has its naval force in the region. One of its goals in the region is safeguarding important shipping routes in the Indo-Pacific and the free flow of trade supported by its allies. India, Japan and Australia are some of the key partners of the United States in the Indo-Pacific’s security domain. However, the primary target in maritime security of the Indo-Pacific is to tame the Chinese dragon from expanding its territory and influence, mainly in the East and South China Seas. To cut back Beijing’s regional dominance, the US has even encouraged India, another regional player, to take the role of ‘Net Security Provider’. It includes President Donald Trump preferring the term Indo-Pacific over Asia-Pacific in light of China’s expanding politico-military activities. Thus, the United States’ maritime security focus has been to increase regional stability and stop nuclear proliferation and terrorism, including its many other security initiatives. The global power, the USA, conducts the world’s largest international maritime exercise, the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise. It has also emphasised partnerships such as AUKUS with Australia and the United Kingdom, as well as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue with the democratic nations of Japan, India, and Australia. These military exercises and alliances are also part of the US’s greater role in the Indo-Pacific region.

• China

China’s imperial aspirations of becoming Zhongguo, or the ‘Middle Kingdom’, which refers to being the centre of the world, are still very much present (Air University (AU), 2024). China realises its path to superpower status through regional hegemony. It forms the rationale why China spends a great deal of effort exerting control over the Asia-Pacific, such as its Belt and Road Initiative and its components like the Maritime Silk Road, or making expansive jurisdictional claims in the South China Sea – the Nine-Dash Line. International law, even the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, signed by China, takes a back seat in this matter. This assertion by China has caused the South China Sea to emerge as a flashpoint in the region. Beijing wants to reduce the presence of the United States in the region to a great extent. Oftentimes, the Indo-Pacific has become a stage where the power politics between the USA and China play out. The Chinese want the United States’ military forces, its allies and security partners farther away from its shores. It is the only way they can protect themselves from frequent maritime challenges. Thus, China aims to reach an unassailable strength to have control over the economy and military in the region and extend its global influence.

• India

The adoption of the concept of Indo-Pacific, replacing Asia-Pacific, emphasised a bigger role for India. However, it was initially cautious. Nations like the US wanted India to be part of the security architecture of the region. The assertiveness of China in the Indian Ocean called for India to take a proactive role. In the confluence of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, India’s position and interests in the Indian Ocean overtook the Pacific, unlike the US, Japan and Australia (The Indo-Pacific in Indian Foreign Policy, n.d.). India’s main priorities for involvement in the region are energy security and economic prosperity. It needs to secure sea lanes for its oil imports and trade routes from Maritime threats. To counter the aggressive Chinese behaviour, India engages with like-minded partners through the Quad, BIMSTEC, IORA, and ASEAN forums. New Delhi also endorses the vision of a ‘free and open Indo-Pacific. Thus, India is a regional power with a crucial role to play in the maritime security of the Indo-Pacific region.

• Japan

Japan, a keen player in the Indo-Pacific geopolitical domain, takes up the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) Strategy. It is often overlooked, but Japan plays a crucial role in reducing the small Pacific nations’ reliance on China. Japan aids these small maritime nations in protecting their water with various capacity-building measures. For instance, Japan engages with small island states in the Pacific, such as Fiji, Micronesia, and Palau, to promote their maritime security capability. Tokyo’s initiatives support a rules-based maritime order and help stabilise the Pacific region against external coercion (IPDForum, 2024). Japan also partners with the United States and Australia to secure the sea lanes and strives for the same through initiatives like the Blue Dot Network and the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA). Japan is thus a key regional power, addressing challenges of illegal fishing and environmental threats and, by and large, fortifying maritime security in the region.

• Small Maritime States

The littoral and island states in the Indian and Pacific oceans are strategically situated due to proximity to international sea lanes. However, they lack the resources and infrastructure to secure their vast maritime zones. When the larger geopolitical competition plays out in the region, the small states that lack hard power utilise their alignment for various benefits. Small littoral and island nations pursue their agendas and seek maritime domain awareness and disaster management. Enhancing surveillance systems, counter-piracy operations, and defence cooperation amplify maritime security efforts. The small states are increasingly expanding their military-modernisation efforts with external and regional partners as major-power rivalries increasingly play out on their shores (Navigating Small-state Security in the Indo-Pacific, n.d.). Although island nations seek increased surveillance equipment to combat illegal fishing and crime, they worry that they could become hosts for the surveillance equipment of strategic rivals (Baruah & Labh, 2023). The small sovereign maritime states have become susceptible to geopolitical power politics. A few states try to balance rival powers in their engagement, such as Sri Lanka, which balances between India and China. The small littoral and island states are often overlooked and left out in geopolitical and policy discussions of the Indo-Pacific, even though they are affected by it. These small maritime states may have different priorities than the larger powers, but are integral to maritime security endeavours in the Indo-Pacific.

Conclusion

There is an intricate web of actors playing out in the geopolitical arena of the Indo-Pacific. Each state has a maritime strategy of its own, which caters to its needs and interests. With increasing vulnerabilities and challenges, a plethora of states are involved as the implications of maritime security issues are a concern on a global level. The article explores the role of states from a spectrum of power dynamics – global powers of the United States and China, regional powers of India and Japan and the strategically placed small maritime states. It encapsulates the power politics between the United States and China, the aspirations of India and Japan, and the agency of small maritime nations. The analysis provides a delicate picture of maritime security operating in the Indo-Pacific, an epicentre of global geopolitics. Other than the state actors, a variety of non-state actors, like transnational groups and regional organisations, influence the dynamics of maritime security in the Indo-Pacific.

References

Air University (AU). (2024, May 8). Convergence of the Indo-Pacific with the Indian Ocean—Is a Maritime-Ce. https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/JIPA/Display/Article/3766926/convergence-of-the-indo-pacific-with-the-indian-oceanis-a-maritime-centric-appr/

Baruah, M. P., & Labh, P. (2023). Understanding the Indo-Pacific: The island way. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2023/03/understanding-the-indo-pacific-the-island-way

Gopal, P. (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. https://doi.org/10.1080/09733159.2017.1321208

IPDForum. (2024, December 10). Japan’s maritime security initiatives support Pacific Island partners. Indo-Pacific Defense FORUM. https://ipdefenseforum.com/2024/12/japans-maritime-security-initiatives-support-pacific-island-partners/

Maritime Security – Pacific Forum. (2024, May 2). Pacific Forum. https://pacforum.org/focus-area/maritime-security/

Navigating small-state security in the Indo-Pacific. (n.d.). IISS. https://www.iiss.org/online-analysis/online-analysis/2024/05/navigating-small-state-security-in-the-indo-pacific/

The Indo-Pacific in Indian foreign policy. (n.d.). Royal United Services Institute. https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/policy-briefs/indo-pacific-indian-foreign-policy

Windward. (2024, October 14). What is Maritime Security? https://windward.ai/glossary/what-is-maritime-security/