“PM Modi’s eastward push: Resetting India’s Indo-Pacific strategy”, First Post, July 15, 2026

“Following several visits covering Europe, West Asia and the Indian Ocean island state of Seychelles, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian government have given their utmost attention to refining and implementing India’s Act East Policy and the Indo-Pacific strategy. His short visit to Malaysia in February was followed by the Japanese Prime Minister’s visit to India in early July.

This set the stage for placing a special focus on three nations in the East — Indonesia, Australia, and New Zealand. PM Modi’s voyage there from July 6-11 was one of the longest, most ambitious, and consequential visits by an Indian prime minister. This extensive journey was full of spectacle as well as substance. To evaluate its outcome and impact in real terms, one must look beyond the headlines and dig deeper than the large cluster of photos and videos from the past week.

The context

The context also needs to be kept in mind. The Covid-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, the conflict in Gaza, and the Gulf war combined to reduce the salience of the Indo-Pacific. In addition, starting in January 2025, the US administration began signalling that other regions were more important to the US and planned to forge a cooperative, less adversarial relationship with China. All this led Asian states, including India, to appraise their policy options and adjust to new power realities, especially the possible implications of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz for Southeast and East Asia. What if the Strait of Malacca were closed due to a war or actions by a particular state? A common, discernible response was to promote greater cooperation in the defence and economic domains among the key Indo-Pacific democracies. This seemed to be the leitmotif of Modi’s July safari to the region…….”

Read full article at firstpost.com