US dropping 'Indo' from Pacific Command name adds pressure on India ties

The Pentagon has announced that "Indo" will be removed from the official name of the unit formerly known as US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM), with a return to its pre-2018 designation, US Pacific Command (USPACOM). Pentagon press secretary Pat Ryder said the move was "administrative in nature" and did "not change the strategic importance of the Indo-Pacific region". Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said the name change was being "carefully considered".

Hudson Institute senior fellow Aparna Pande said in Washington: "The name change is technical on the surface, but it could raise questions in New Delhi about the priority placed on the QUAD partnership." The bilateral US-India trade deal talks have also been postponed to September. The Indian exporters' federation FIEO said the delay would weigh on the electronics and pharmaceutical sectors.

Markets reacted in regional fashion. The Indian rupee fell 0.2% against the dollar after the news, and the Nifty 50 closed 0.64% lower. Further clarity on possible US-India defence industrial partnerships is awaited; officials in Washington said the agenda of next month's Quad summit would be announced shortly.