Context

India has set up an Indo-Pacific divisionin the foreign office. The division will integrate the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), Asean region and the Quad to the Indo-Pacific table.

About

• It is set up by Ministry of External Affairs.
• The main objective of the Indo-pacific division is intended to give a coherent architecture to the Indo-Pacific policy articulated by PM at the Shangri-La Dialogue in 2018. 
• The Indo-Pacific diplomacy of India has repeatedly placed ASEAN at the centre of its policy.
• Even the US has recently renamed its Pacific Command to the Indo-Pacific Command as it seeks to give teeth to its Indo-Pacific policy.

Key Facts-

• India is planning to put greater energy to the IORA because the heart of its Indo-Pacific policy is rooted in the Indian Ocean. 
• This integrates the blue economy part of the Indian policy with the security part.
• Countries falling in the direct hinterland of the vast Indian and Pacific oceanic expanse are termed ‘Indo-Pacific countries’.
• It is a multipolar region, contributing more than half of the world’s GDP and population.
• The motivation for a larger bloc always comes from the sheer size, resources it owns, and, the scope and size of the economies of scale that it can generate. This is, in fact, a region in which several Asian powers are once again rising, especially in geo- economic terms.

Significance

MEA’s territorial divisions are crucial for policy making, so the creation of an Indo-Pacific division is a big step by the government.  The protection and preservation of marine resources, as well as a sustainable and responsible fishery–framework, are all critical towards building a regional consensus on maritime security and cooperation in Indo-Pacific.

Shangri-LaDialogue:
The Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) is a "Track One" inter-governmental security forum held annually by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). It is attended by defense ministers, permanent heads of ministries and military chiefs of 28 Asia-Pacific states. The forum gets its name from the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore. It has been held since 2002.