India’s Indo-Pacific strategy gets EU, Asean defence boost to counter China’s influence

India is intensifying efforts to counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific by strengthening defence ties with European nations such as Germany while also bolstering naval alliances in Southeast Asia, defence analysts say.

Even as New Delhi works to resolve its long-standing border disputes with Beijing, it is simultaneously expanding strategic partnerships both within the Indo-Pacific region and beyond, with recent high-level visits by European leaders and naval deployments signalling a broader approach to the country’s Indo-Pacific strategy.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was in India on a three-day visit last week to enhance bilateral defence cooperation, during which he emphasised the importance of ensuring freedom of global maritime traffic and called for stronger military ties.

Scholz later visited a German frigate and a supply ship in Goa, saying their presence contributed to ensuring the freedom of global maritime traffic.

C Uday Bhaskar, a former Indian naval officer and director of the Society for Policy Studies think tank in Delhi, noted that it had taken a long time for Germany and India to arrive at this stage of bilateral engagement.

“For many decades – since the unification of Germany – India has been a relatively lower priority for Germany. It is only in recent years, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, that Germany is reviewing its Asia policy,” Bhaskar told This Week in Asia.