India’s military relations with major powers in the Indo-Pacific

India is the lynchpin power in any Indo-Pacific Partnership (IPP) and related strategy. Without India’s participation and cooperation on various levels, particularly in the political and defence realms, the IPP remains illusory and unable to effectively counter Chinese influence. A panel dedicated to India's Defence Networks with Australia, Japan and the USA: Potentials and Pitfalls will grapple with hard questions about India’s trajectory with individual members of the Quad as well as on the macro level as something that may one day approach a formal alliance. To do so, we propose attempting to answer the following questions:

• What would India’s military-to-military cooperation look like with Japan or Australia or the USA?
• What prospect is there for a broader defence partnership that encompasses all four partners?
• What are the domestic or international hurdles and pitfalls that may stymie such arrangements?

Speakers

Brendon Cannon, Khalifa University, UAE

Darshana Baruah, Senior Research Analyst, Carnegie India

Indrani Bagchi, Diplomatic Editor, Times of India

Jagannath Panda, Research Fellow, IDSA

Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, Head of Nuclear and Space Policy Initiative, ORF

Programme

3:00 – 3:10 p.m. | Welcome Remarks | Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan

3:10 – 4.30 p.m. | Presentations | Brendon Cannon • Indrani Bagchi • Jagannath Panda • Darshana Baruah

4:30 – 4:50 p.m. | Moderated Q&A

4:50 – 5.00 p.m. | Closing remarks | Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan

5:00 p.m. onwards | High tea