Young scholars network to advocate for a free and open Indo-Pacific

CHENNAI: Ambassador Kelly Keiderling, the US State Department’s South and Central Asian Affairs Bureau Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, formally launched the Indo-Pacific Circle (IPC), a regional network of early and mid-career scholars working on issues concerning the Indo-Pacific, in a virtual event on February 10. An initiative of the New Delhi-based Council for Strategic and Defense Research (CSDR) and Centre for Policy Research (CPR), this network will facilitate and advocate for a deeper understanding of the perspectives on a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Launching the Indo-Pacific Circle, Ambassador Keiderling said, “What happens in the Indo-Pacific region will shape the trajectory of the 21st century. The United States believes in a free and open Indo Pacific; we view as indispensable a rules-based international system, a system that has safeguarded peace and security, and delivered prosperity to the world since World War II. India is a superb place to centre the Indo-Pacific Circle. India is a vital partner for the United States and has an unmatched reputation for intellectual curiosity and world-class academic talent.”

Founder of Council for Strategic and Defense Research (CSDR) Happymon Jacob, who is also an Associate Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, introduced the Indo-Pacific Circle to the virtual event participants. He said, “We are thrilled to launch this platform that connects young academics and researchers from the Indo-Pacific region. One of the key objectives of the Indo-Pacific Circle is to generate ideas, networks, and debates from within the region that will contribute to shaping narratives on the Indo-Pacific. The Indo-Pacific Circle is an intellectual collective of tomorrow’s leaders whose ideas, networks, and debates will help create a free, open, and rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region that respects sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the equality of nations.”

Through the Indo-Pacific Circle (IPC), CPR and CSDR will engage university scholars from the Indo-Pacific and inspire collaborative research and institutional partnerships. Through the IPC network’s digital platform, (https://www.ipcircle.org/), scholars will share perspectives on the Indo-Pacific and attend a series of virtual events and knowledge-sharing opportunities. Additionally, IPC members will be considered for an in-person residency in South India where Indo-Pacific scholars will engage with other US, Indian, and regional experts. 

Foreign affairs expert C Rajamohan, Visiting Research Professor, Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS), National University of Singapore, delivered the event’s keynote address. The launch also featured a panel discussion titled “Framing the Indo-Pacific: Pathways to the Future” moderated by Lt Gen D S Hooda (Retd.). Adding to the discussion were panelists Ankit Panda, Stanton Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington D.C.; Manoj Kewalramani, Chairperson, Indo-Pacific Research Program, Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru; Sana Hashmi, Visiting Fellow at Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation, Taipei City; and Kittiphat Puttiwanich, lecturer, Ramkhamhaeng University, Thailand.