A Study On India-US Maritime Security Cooperation In The Context Of Indo-pacific

Since the 21 st century,with the increasing geo-economic,geo-political and geo-strategic value of the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions,the concept of "IndoPacific" has been put forward and constructed by the academic and political circles of international relations,and has become the basis for relevant countries to propose and implement Indo-Pacific strategies in pursuit of their own interests.Among them,India and the United States are two important countries in constructing the concept of "Indo-Pacific" and implementing the Indo-Pacific strategy.In the context that the Indo-Pacific concept has gradually been accepted by relevant countries and the IndoPacific region has gradually become a geo-economic,geo-political and geo-strategic space,India and the US have respectively launched Indo-Pacific strategies and carried out strategic cooperation,of which maritime security cooperation is the main content.The study of maritime security cooperation between India and the United States is of great significance for understanding the development of India-US relation after the Cold War and its impact on the security pattern of Asia and China’s periphery.India-US maritime security cooperation is driven by common interests and shared values.According to the realist theory of international security cooperation,the main motivation of India-US maritime security cooperation is that India and the US share common interests.First of all,the United States is in need of maintaining its hegemony in the Asia-Pacific sea area,and India also has the purpose of maintaining its dominant position in the Indian Ocean region.Both of them regard the rise of China as a challenge to their maritime security interests in the Indo-Pacific region,and take "balancing China" as their common goal and interest.Second,it is also in the common interest of India and the US to jointly address maritime nontraditional security in the Indo-Pacific region.Thirdly,India wants to use the US to achieve its strategic goals of enhancing its maritime security capability,regional influence and great power status.On the other hand,for the US,India’s enhanced capability and influence can help it strengthen its counterbalance against China through India.Thus,India and the US have complementary interests in maritime security cooperation.The sharing of democratic values between India and the United States enables the two countries to construct a common identity and interests,thus providing a complementary explanation for the motivation of India-US maritime security cooperation.Based on a strong willingness to cooperate driven by interest,India-US maritime security cooperation has progressed smoothly and rapidly since the end of the Cold War.Promoted by the senior leadership of India and the United States,the two countries have not only built a relatively complete framework for maritime security cooperation and formed a multi-level institutionalized mechanism for maritime security cooperation,but also achieved substantive results in a number of areas of maritime security cooperation,including defense trade,joint military exercises,security of sea lanes,counter-terrorism and disaster relief and other nontraditional maritime security cooperation.In general,it has reached the level of "quasi-ally" cooperation,making India-US maritime security cooperation an important pillar of the India-US strategic partnership.However,India-US maritime security cooperation also faces constraints such as slow progress in "interoperability",difficulties in the transfer of defense technology,few joint naval operations between two countries,and lack of substantive cooperation between India and the US in the Western Pacific.The reasons lie in the differences between the two sides in policy cognition and policy practice.First,there are still differences in India-US maritime security cooperation policies,which are embodied in the differences in strategic objectives of maritime security cooperation,the differences in cognition and ways of maritime security cooperation,and the bureaucratic obstacles in the process of bilateral cooperation.Second,there are differences in foreign policies between India and the United States,including their policies towards China,Russia,Pakistan,Iran and other countries.India-US maritime security cooperation has had an important impact on the regional situation and security pattern.It has not only enhanced India’s geostrategic value and maritime security capability,but also strengthened the India-US strategic partnership.It is worth noting that India-US maritime security cooperation has also been connected to the US alliance and partnership system,such as the Quadrilateral Mechanism and India-Japan maritime security cooperation,thus promoting the shaping of the Indo-Pacific security architecture in line with the wishes of India and the US.India-US maritime security cooperation has,to some extent,changed the balance of regional power and negatively affected the security and stability of Asia.An analysis of the prospects of India-US maritime security cooperation will help us further grasp the dynamics of India-US maritime security cooperation.It can be believed that in the context of the rise of China,the India-US recognition of common interests in maritime security is a constant that can sustain India-US maritime security cooperation.And India’s decision based on strategic autonomy is the variable that affects the trend of India-US maritime security cooperation.