Page 65 - K M PANNIKAR and The Growth of a Maritime Consciousness in India

With an avid interest in the field of Numismatics, she has also worked
at Mintage World as a Research Assistant till January 2018. She has an
exemplary teaching experience in History at Wilson College as an Assistant
Professor till April 2018. She was a Research Associate and part of the core
team at Maritime History Society. Other than inhouse (MHS) publications,
she has presented a paper in a conference at K R Cama Oriental Institute on
“Significance of British Fortification of Bombay Islands” and Published paper in
the Dilli Sea power seminar series on “Imbalance Between Continental and Sea
Power in India During the Medieval Period”.

EMERGENCE OF EUROPEAN POWERS IN THE INDO-PACIFIC
Embracing New Geo-Political Realities

Indo-Pacific, the largest maritime fortress in making and is currently the
golden topic in International Relations. The importance of the Pacific-Atlantic
axis significantly rose in the 20th century that changed the entire course of
the future world order. Panikkar believed there were many reasons for the
dominance of the Pacific-Atlantic highway and similarly, several rationales
on the absence of the Indian Ocean from the geopolitical study. According to
Pannikar, for centuries, despite having a unique geographical position in the
Indian Ocean, Indians gave no importance to the maritime domain. Hence, the
European powers sailed up and asserted their dominance. Under British rule,
apart from trade, the region remained more or less calm whilst others served as
battlefields. He believed until India asserts itself, the region would not achieve
its due.
Today, with India’s increasing economic vitality and strategic weightage on
international affairs, the focus of world politics has shifted to the Indo-Pacific.
In the present strategic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific amongst the US, India,
Japan and Australia; Europe has started showing considerable interest in
the region. Indo Pacific now showcases a new orientation towards the entire
strategic game plan of the hegemonic powers of the 21st century. Although,
this new geo-political construct is rapidly gaining importance it is still in its
infancy. Hence, it is the right time for the policymakers, strategic thinkers,
academicians and scholars to discuss the efficacy of this new geo-political
construct and its future. The engagement of the 20th-century powers such as
France and Germany in the region is noteworthy. France has already concluded
its Trilateral framework with India and Australia to enhance cooperation in the
Indo Pacific. While Germany has announced its new policy for the Indo Pacific
which defines its interest to be a part of the multilateral construct.
This paper will traverse through the historical narratives; explore the geo-
political and geo-economic opportunities and challenges with the European
involvement in the region. It will specifically focus upon the engagement of
Germany and France in the Indo-Pacific and its implications on the future
of Quad and ASEAN. Will the European entry further entangle the existing
convoluted construct or untangle the differences for a long-term partnership is
a question to be answered.

23-24 March 2021 | Sapru House, New Delhi 65