Session 4.1

Addressing ‘unconventional’ problems within the Indo-Pacific

Chair: Dr Anand V.

Countries of the Indo-Pacific are harnessing cyberspace technologies for their digital transformation. But this increased dependence on cyberspace has also provided opportunities for malicious state and non-state actors to breach computer networks, steal sensitive data and disrupt critical infrastructure. Consequently, cyber threats have steadily expanded in the Indo-Pacific during the last decade. The onset of COVID-19 has only deepened this threat landscape. Cyber saboteurs capitalised on the pandemic conditions and the rapid shift to the remote working environment to carry out debilitating cyberattacks. Against this backdrop, countries of the Indo-Pacific need to come together to build the region's cyber resilience. This can broadly encompass capacity-building programmes and technical exchanges; and b) norms-setting for responsible state behaviour in cyberspace. In making this argument, this proposed article will examine the nature of the evolving regional cyber threat and its perpetrators. It will then outline opportunities to strengthen the cyber resilience of the region.

Any environmental disaster in the Indo-Pacific region has a far-reaching security implication impacting the entire region. The aspect of the disaster in the region assumes greater importance as the Indian Ocean is referred to as the “Hazard Belt” with climatic and geological disasters such as cyclones and Tsunamis occurring with fair regularity. Another environmental issue that is potentially disastrous for the region is the diminishing fish stocks. In fact, overfishing in the Indian Ocean led to the Somali piracy issue leading to the militarization of the Ocean. Finally, one of the major environmental hazards is marine pollution which impacts marine life and people’s livelihoods. Arguably, all these disasters are transnational in character with the potential to damage cooperation and relations between states. This paper will look into the aspect of environmental disasters in the region, their impact at social, political, and security levels, and the plans of action undertaken by the stakeholders at the regional, transnational, and community levels to serve socio-economic and strategic interests.

Ms Poornima B and Mr Nadeem Ahmed Moonakal 

Regional Tensions Post-US Withdrawal from JCPOA: Implications for the Indo-Pacific

The escalating tensions between the US and Iran following the USA’s withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018 have significantly influenced the security challenges in the Persian/Arab Gulf region, located on the western periphery of the Indo-Pacific. The regional security in West Asia, specifically along the strategic maritime chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz, has deteriorated in recent years. Iranian involvement in targeting US interests and their allies in the region has consequentially posed severe security challenges in the Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden, and the Persian/Arabian Gulf region. These gateways cater to significant maritime commerce in the Indo-Pacific. In order to understand these tensions, this paper has three key contributions. Firstly, it will identify the region’s geopolitical tensions and trace major Iran-backed attacks following the 2018 JCPOA withdrawal. Asymmetric attacks launched by Iran’s proxy groups escalated following the US exit from the nuclear deal. Secondly, the research will try to identify the means and channels through which the attacks are orchestrated and try to understand the narratives and discourses concerning the escalation of tension. Specifically, a constructivist approach drawing upon primary literature survey of government documents, official statements, and press releases pertinent to the issue, will be used explore these issues. Thirdly, the research will assess the strategic determinants in the security flashpoints in the region and their implications for regional stability in the western peripheries of the Indo-Pacific.

A broad understanding of space security entails both the safety of space assets themselves, as well as the provision of services enabled by space technologies that contribute towards maintaining security and law and order on Earth. Space security has become a major objective for advanced space powers and the Indo-Pacific is one theatre which is home to many such states. The paper delimits itself to exploring the actions of China, Japan and India, who are the undisputed space powers in the Indo Pacific. Although there are other Asian states with independent space launch capabilities, the advances made by China, Japan and India far outstrip the activities taking place elsewhere in the region. These states are also the ones linked most often to the context of the ‘Asian Space Race’ – a narrative which has received significant attention, though without any real evidential backing. This paper analyses the debates surrounding the perceived Asian space race and argues that the China-India-Japan triangular relationship is far removed from the USA-Russia-China one, particularly in the case of an emerging, reciprocal arms race in the space domain. The paper highlights the complementarities in approaches of the leading Asian powers and discusses avenues for potential cooperation on space security.