Emerging Indo-German Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific Region

Abstract

China’s precarious maritime claims in the Indo-Pacific region have led to its securitization by its neighboring states. Extra-regional states, too, fear the threatened rules-based international order in the region, as more than half of the world’s maritime trade is conducted through these waters. Considering increasing instability and insecurity, many regional and extra-regional states are forging bilateral and multilateral alliances to counter China’s assertion in the region to secure trade through these waters. The growing economic importance of the Indo-Pacific region and China’s rise have pushed Germany to draft policy guidelines for interactions with the regional powers. Being a maritime power and having geographical proximity to the region, India attracted Germany to strengthen relations. Hence, India and Germany are ready to open a new chapter of economic and security ties in the region. This study uses securitization theory to analyze the emerging Indo-German cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. Moreover, the emerging Indo-German partnership paves the way for other European nations to increase their engagement with India against China’s ascent. Germany’s policy guidelines for the region and India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiatives (IPOI) have been analyzed to show the emergence of Indo-German cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.