With the Indo-Pacific region emerging as India’s foreign Policy priority area, the Foreign Ministry is getting a restructuring done.
A new, “Oceania” division focusing on the South East Asian nations, Pacific Island States and the larger Indo-Pacific has been created. It will be headed by a senior officer of the rank of additional secretary, and is a clear sign of the importance Modi government gives to the region.
The Southern Division that looked after a series of countries from Thailand to Australia and New Zealand will be part of the new “Oceania” division. Besides countries in Southeast Asia, the “Oceania” division will include Pacific Island states like the Cook Islands, Tuvalu, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, the Marshal Islands, Solomon Islands and Tonga among others.
The new “super division” will be headed by Additional Secretary Reenat Sandhu (IFS:1989) and under him, there will be two director rank officers-Geetika Srivastava (IFS:2005) and Paulomi Tripathi (IFS:2007).
The rejig aims to look at countries from Thailand to the Pacific Island states as one pan region. By including additional secretary rank officials in charge of the divisions gives foreign policy priority and also importance to these countries. Most importantly, it signals that India’s Foreign Ministry, headed by Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla – give priority to the engagement with countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
The timing and alignment of the restructuring, at a time when the foreign ministers of the “Quad countries” – the US, Japan, Australia and India – are expected to meet in Japan next month is crucial. All four Quad countries support a “free” and “open” Indo-Pacific with freedom of navigation and overflight. It comes amid concerns over the rise of China and its muscle flexing in the South China Sea, East China Sea and the Taiwan Straits.
The recast also comes amid news of ” Crystallizing Cooperation within the 4 “Quad” countries and it’s possible expansion by including countries like Vietnam to curb Chinese muscle flexing.
