“India’s Calculus in Quad Ports and Undersea Cables: Navigating Between Opportunity and Strategic Autonomy”, India Narrative, November 16, 2025
“India stands at a critical juncture in its maritime strategy, facing the dual imperatives of leveraging collective partnerships to counter China’s expanding infrastructure footprint while preserving the strategic autonomy that has defined its foreign policy orientation. The convergence of port modernization and undersea cable security under the Quad framework—a partnership between India, Japan, the United States, and Australia—illuminates how New Delhi navigates the complex geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific, where infrastructure investments have become proxies for great power competition and regional influence.
For India, the Quad’s ports and undersea cable initiatives represent more than infrastructure development—they constitute a strategic recalibration of its Indo-Pacific posture at a time when China’s “String of Pearls” strategy continues to encircle the subcontinent through ports in Gwadar, Hambantota, Kyaukpyu, and Chittagong. The announcement of projects like the green hydrogen facility at Kandla Port, the operationalization of Vizhinjam as India’s first deep-water transshipment hub, and the doubling of capacity at JNPT through record foreign investment signals India’s intent to position itself as a credible alternative to Chinese-financed infrastructure in the region.
Japan’s Indispensable Role and India’s Strategic Fit
Japan emerges as India’s most critical Quad partner in this maritime calculus. Tokyo’s financial heft—evidenced by commitments exceeding $40 billion in India and an additional $68 billion investment target announced at the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit—provides the capital intensity India needs to accelerate port modernization and industrial corridor development. Japan’s development assistance has already proven transformative: the Matarbari deep-sea port in Bangladesh, developed through Indo-Japanese coordination, is designed to connect with India’s northeastern region, creating a Bay of Bengal industrial value chain that challenges Chinese dominance in the subregion……”
Read full article at indianarrative.com
