PYQ Vault · Paper 2 · India & the Global Centres of Power — Part 1
Discuss the rationale behind replacing the “Asia- Pacific” strategy with the new term “Indo-Pacific” strategy.
How the answer moves
The flow snapshot — the routes in, the body, the counter-view and the routes out.
Flow snapshot — how the answer moves
Intro routes
Intro ——R?:~-Asia-Pacific: 1960s origin, APEC 1980s — rim-centred map, routes India outside, Indian Ocean read apart + renaming = deciding who counts R2 aregion is a strategic choice, not a coastline — the old map left out India and the Indian Ocean — the new name written to bring India in
Body flow
Hormuz + Malacca, half of maritime oil trade — India’s weight cannot sit off the map — Khurana 2007, alternative that takes India in → Abe’s confluence, Australian + American support > both oceans one theatre — Quad’s premise — India past South Asia
Counter-view
Counter- resistance mirrors adoption — Beijing prefers Asia-Pacific, keeps view China central -> Moscow: artificial > Chacko: trade density stayed Asia-Pacific, region built from anxiety over China, India as balancer
Conclusion routes
Conclusion R1 strategic, not cartographic + 2025 NSS hemisphere first, 2026 routes NIDS deterrence second-order > the name holds only while the strategy is funded R2 renaming decided who counts — India gained standing, China lost centrality – a map survives on its sponsors’ investment, not on its logic
Model answer
Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.
