WITHIN space of a month, two nations sharing bilateral relations with India have elevated ties to strategic partnerships that unlock critical areas of trade and security for cooperation. After Asian neighbour Japan changed relations with India into a strategic partnership, it was far-off New Zealand’s turn to embrace India as a very important ally for the future journey. Both the developments have firmly established India as the key player in the Indo Pacific and a reliable partner in drawing future oceanic maps in this strategically-significant maritime corridor. This was the very purpose of the three-leg tour by Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi as India opened its new strategy of making the Indo Pacific a vital component of geopolitical considerations for the future. Since the maritime area concerns both the United States and China, New Delhi has wisely and smartly positioned itself as the leader of a force worth reckoning for both the top powers.

 

PM Mr. Modi has made it sure that maritime security cooperation becomes the headline of the pacts signed with Japan, Indonesia, Australia, and New Zealand to send New Delhi’s message of leading a front that does not believe in coercive actions and at the same time is not bound by unilateral diktat affecting its strategic autonomy. This is the biggest import of the trade and security agreements signed by Mr. Modi with New Zealand Prime Minister Mr. Christopher Luxon. Apart from the trade-specific benefits that the two countries have unlocked by signing the Free Trade Agreement, both India and New Zealand have signaled that they are looking at long-term collaboration in maritime security without depending upon the United States.

 

That the two have agreed for reciprocal logistics support between the Indian Navy and the New Zealand Defence Force shows that Indo-Pacific maritime security remains a top priority for both in face of growing aggression from China and dwindling interest of the Trump administration in the Quad grouping. This pact is set to define the future of activities in the Indo Pacific and also the Indian Ocean Region as Mr. Modi has craftily hyphenated it with the Trans-Tasman seas. Beyond the security spectrum, the agreement between India and New Zealand also bolsters supply chain resilience and secures trade routes in the geographically-important Indo Pacific region. How free and secure trade routes are critical for global commerce has already been realised by the world when the Strait of Hormuz was held hostage by Iran in response to the US attacks.

 

It was an important lesson for growing economies like India to seek viable alternatives and forge partnerships that can shape geopolitics of the future. New Delhi is now halfway through the exercise of building a separate commercial bloc of second-tier economies holding strategic geographical positions. By choosing New Zealand as part of the new island chain strategy, India has shown superb maturity. The tiny nation is often seen as a far-away island living in its own world. Its importance is not lost on Mr. Modi who became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit New Zealand after a gap of 40 years. With a security pact signed, India has successfully connected two extreme dots between the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. The chain it has created will hold a group of nations who can define the future of the global economy.