indian ocean area next step

Indian ocean area next step
OUR External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar while addressing the Delhi Dialogue conference told that one of the problems in building partnerships in the Indo-Pacific maritime region was the lack of consensus on the concept of security and geographic extent. Indian Ocean Region (IORA) countries should, therefore, build on a common vision. They all had the guiding principle of ensuring that the region remained “open and free for inclusive partnerships with all, within the parameters of sovereignty, equality, and a rules-based system.” The challenge, however, was that countries to the west of India had fewer mechanisms than those to the east to pursue such ties. While countries like the U.S. define the Indo-Pacific as reaching the Indian subcontinent, India and partners like Japan extend the idea to Africa. Another major challenge is maritime security.