Margherita in the Pacific, Rajnath Singh in the US and Chinese Y9 in Japan
This week, I discuss Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to the US, Chinese aircraft incursion in Japanese airspace, and an assessment of Quad’s engagement with the Pacific Island States.
Credits: Michael Joiner, 360info
Rajnath Singh visited the United States from August 23rd to 26th, where he met with his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, and National Security Advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan. During this visit, several key agreements were inked and discussed:
Defence Agreements: India and the US signed two significant deals. The first was the Security of Supplies Arrangement (SOSA), which ensures that both nations provide each other with reciprocal priority support for goods and services essential to national defence. This is important for maintaining supply chain resilience in times of crisis. India is now the 18th country to enter such an arrangement with the US, joining other strategic partners like Australia and Japan. The second was the Memorandum of Agreement regarding the Assignment of Liaison Officers, discussed during PM Modi’s visit to the US last year. India will deploy its first Liaison Officer to the Special Operations Command Headquarters (SOCOM) in Florida to strengthen communication and coordination between the two militaries.
Military Procurement: According to the press release from the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), India has requested to buy AN/SSQ-53G High Altitude Anti-Submarine Warfare (HAASW) Sonobuoys and related equipment, with an estimated value of $52.8 million. These would enhance India’s ability to conduct operations using its MH-60R helicopters, strengthening the U.S.-India strategic relationship and contributing to regional security in the Indo-Pacific.
Reaffirming the importance of Quad: The Ministers appreciated the progress made in operationalising the Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA), lauding the ongoing efforts by India to enhance maritime domain awareness for the partners in the Indian Ocean Region. They welcomed India’s participation in the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), noting the deployment of the Indian Navy personnel in 2025.
Singh also engaged with leaders of the US defence industry, organised by the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, to explore opportunities for future collaborations, focusing on joint manufacturing and technology transfer. This visit underscores the growing momentum in India-US defence relations and is seen as a step forward in strengthening the strategic partnership between the two nations. It is particularly noteworthy given the media kerfuffle in recent months over developments in Bangladesh and Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Russia.
The 53rd Pacific Island Forum
The 53rd Pacific Island Forum meeting took place in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, last week. Founded in 1971, the PIF brings together 18 member states to discuss and coordinate responses to issues such as climate change, economic development, and regional security across the Pacific. For the first few decades, the annual meetings of PIF leaders received little attention. However, that changed after China intensified aid, diplomacy, and security initiatives in the region, drawing greater international focus.
In a dramatic ending, all participating nations reaffirmed their commitment to recognising Taiwan (Republic of China) as a “development partner” in the leaders’ communique, much to the chagrin of the Chinese officials in attendance, who were visibly discontent after having sent their largest-ever delegation to the meet, led by Special Envoy for the Pacific Islands Qian Bo. However, demonstrating its increasing influence in the region, China succeeded in persuading the Pacific leaders to exclude the mention of Taiwan from the eventual official communique.
Pabitra Margherita, Minister of State for External Affairs, visited the forum to mark the first-ever participation from India at the ministerial level. At the Dialogue Partner Session, the Minister pledged to undertake one Quick Impact Project (QIP) of the recipient country’s choice worth USD 50,000 in each of the 14 Pacific Island Countries.
The forum has 21 “dialogue partners”, a group of nations with interest in the region, including China and all Quad countries except Australia, which is a founding member of the Forum. India became a Dialogue Partner of the PIF in 2002, reflecting its interest in building stronger ties with the group. In 2014, it launched the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) to enhance its engagement with PIF members. FIPIC summits provide a platform for dialogue on areas such as trade, health, climate change, and disaster management. India's participation in the Pacific Islands Forum is part of its broader strategy to expand its influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
While the large powers may have attended the forum seeking to expand their influence, the region’s leaders have remained steadfast in their focus on the enduring challenges of climate change and rapidly rising sea levels. Central to their discussions were the implementation of the Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific (FRDP) and the continued support of the Pacific Resilience Facility, a climate and disaster resilience financing facility.
Australia, a traditional and historically significant partner of the nations, announced funding for a regional policing plan to improve training and create a multinational crisis reaction force. Under the plan, four training centres will be established across the Pacific, with a separate hub in the Australian city of Brisbane. The initiative will also create a multi-country policing force of about 200 officers to be deployed to countries in the region in the event of major events or crises.
The U.S. also sent a large delegation led by Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell. In 2020, it announced the "Pacific Pledge," a multi-year commitment of funding to support the development and resilience of Pacific Island nations. This pledge is part of a broader effort to deepen the U.S.-Pacific partnership and address the unique challenges faced by these countries. Last year, the Biden-Harris Administration released the first-ever U.S. Pacific Partnership Strategy with an ambitious slate of initiatives to achieve this vision and meet Pacific priorities, including announcing plans to provide over $810 million in new assistance.
Japan has been a Dialogue Partner of the Pacific Islands Forum since the 1980s. It has institutionalised its engagement with the nations through the Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM), which it has hosted since 1997. PALM meetings, held every three years, most recently in July 2024, are a key platform for Japan to discuss development, climate change, and security cooperation with PIF members.
Hence, each Quad country has engaged with the Pacific Islands Forum in ways that reflect their respective strategic interests and diplomatic priorities. Australia has had the most direct and long-standing relationship, while the United States, Japan, and India have increasingly deepened their engagement, particularly in response to China's expanding influence and the growing strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific.
Chinese military aircraft in Japan
Finally, in an unprecedented development, a Chinese military aircraft entered Japan's national airspace last week. While China has regularly encroached upon Japan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ)—a self-declared area established by around 20 nations to monitor threats—this marks the first time it has crossed into Japan’s sovereign airspace, an action that constitutes a severe military violation and could be perceived as an act of aggression.
Japan responded swiftly by scrambling fighter jets, summoning a Chinese official, and condemning the intrusion as 'unacceptable.' This incident escalated tensions between the two nations, highlighting the delicate balance of power in the region. It remains uncertain whether the recent incursion of Japanese territorial airspace by the Chinese Y-9 aircraft is an isolated incident or indicative of a new strategy by China.
The uncertainty surrounding this event, coupled with China's ongoing actions around Taiwan and the disputed Senkaku Islands, amplifies fears about Beijing’s broader military ambitions across the Indo-Pacific, underlining the importance of the Quad’s role in countering such provocations and maintaining regional stability.
What We’re Reading and Listening to
[Blog] Read Vanshika Saraf and Anushka Saxena’s piece discussing the potential explanations for the recent Chinese incursion into Japanese airspace
[Podcast] Listen to this All Things Policy episode on Chinese Industrial Overcapacity: Debate or Reality?
[Opinion] Read Anushka Saxena’s latest piece on why a China-US thaw may not be in India’s economic interests