From Dialogue To Action: Science, Technology And Cooperation In The Indo-Pacific

New Delhi: The Indo-Pacific is witnessing a profound transformation. Strategic competition, technological disruption, climate change, the pressures on marine ecosystems and the growing dependence of national economies on maritime connectivity are reshaping the region. No country, however capable, can address these challenges in isolation. The need of the hour is sustained dialogue, shared knowledge and practical cooperation that recognises both the diversity and the interdependence of the Indo-Pacific.

It is in this spirit that the Indian Navy, in partnership with the National Maritime Foundation (NMF), convenes the Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue (IPRD). As the conference enters its eighth edition in 2026, its theme, “Science, Technology and Academic Cooperation”, reflects a fundamental reality: the future of maritime security and prosperity will be shaped as much by knowledge, innovation and human capabilities as by conventional instruments of national power.

An evolving forum for an evolving region

Established in 2018 as the Indian Navy’s apex international conference at the strategic level, the IPRD arose from the recognition that the Indo-Pacific maritime environment is influenced by the actions of regional and extra-regional powers, as well as a multitude of non-State actors. It was conceived as a forum in which rigorous scholarship and informed dialogue could illuminate the opportunities and challenges confronting India and its maritime partners.

Two important policy developments helped give this endeavour a larger strategic context. At the Shangri-La Dialogue in June 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi articulated India’s vision of the Indo-Pacific. In November 2019, at the East Asia Summit in Bangkok, he announced the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI). Both underscored India’s approach to the region as an inclusive space for cooperation, collaboration and facilitation rather than an arena shaped by any one country’s preferences.

The IPOI identifies seven interconnected pillars: Maritime Security; Maritime Ecology; Maritime Resources; Disaster Risk-reduction and Management; Trade-Connectivity and Maritime Transport; Capacity-building and Resource-Sharing; and Science, Technology and Academic Cooperation. Together, they give practical expression to the principle of holistic maritime security: the security of the seas cannot be separated from their environmental health, economic use, scientific understanding and the well-being of the communities that depend upon them. These priorities are also consistent with India’s wider maritime vision of MAHASAGAR—Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions.

Since 2022, successive editions of the IPRD have examined specific dimensions of the IPOI in increasing detail. The 2022 dialogue considered the operationalisation of the initiative; the 2023 edition addressed trade, connectivity and maritime transport; the 2024 edition focused on marine resources; and the 2025 edition explored capacity-building and resource-sharing. This progression has enabled the conference to move beyond broad statements of intent towards increasingly granular discussions and practical recommendations.

The IPRD now brings together naval professionals, diplomats, government officials, industry representatives, academics, think-tanks and interested citizens from across the region. Its expanding international participation reflects a growing recognition that maritime challenges require a wider community of expertise. In 2023, India’s Finance Minister aptly described it as “the maritime supplement of the Raisina Dialogue”.

What the dialogue contributes to the Indian Navy

The IPRD occupies a distinct place in the Indian Navy’s international engagement. It addresses the strategic dimensions of maritime affairs, whereas the Goa Maritime Conclave and related engagements concentrate more directly on operational cooperation, and the MILAN series of exercises brings navies together at the operational and tactical levels. The Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) provides another important framework for professional cooperation among regional navies.

For the Indian Navy, the first benefit of the IPRD is the opportunity to understand how maritime challenges are perceived across a remarkably diverse region—from the East African and West Asian littorals to Southeast Asia and the island countries of Oceania. The concerns of these partners are not always identical to our own. Listening to them enables India to shape cooperation that responds to their circumstances, while learning from their experiences.

Second, the dialogue enables India to explain its own perspectives to an international audience, thereby improving mutual understanding. Third, it places policymakers, naval practitioners, scientists, industry and scholars in the same conversation, allowing complex problems to be examined in their entirety rather than through isolated institutional lenses. Recommendations emerging from these deliberations are shared with relevant stakeholders for consideration and follow-up.

There is also a broader national benefit. A country aspiring to exercise greater maritime influence must cultivate maritime awareness among its citizens. By bringing the oceans into public debate, the IPRD contributes to a more informed national maritime consciousness.

Why science and technology are now indispensable

Science and technology are advancing at a pace that is transforming economies, societies and the character of warfare. Artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, biotechnology, advanced materials, autonomous systems and space-based applications are moving rapidly from research laboratories into practical use. Their significance extends far beyond defence: agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare, transportation, communications and energy all depend increasingly upon scientific knowledge and technological innovation.

Yet access to advanced technologies and the infrastructure needed to develop them remains uneven. Many capabilities are concentrated in a relatively small number of technologically advanced countries. For emerging economies, middle powers and countries of the Global South, pooling scientific expertise, research infrastructure, financial resources and human talent is therefore not merely desirable; it is a strategic necessity.

The maritime domain illustrates this imperative particularly clearly. Ocean climate, hydrography, ocean hydrology, marine biology and ecosystem health are understood through sustained scientific inquiry. The management of fisheries, responsible exploration of seabed resources, maritime transport, protection of critical infrastructure and transition towards greener shipping fuels all depend on innovation and international exchange. Ocean currents, climate systems, marine ecosystems and trade routes cross national boundaries; knowledge and solutions must do the same.

This is especially consequential in the Indo-Pacific, where major maritime economies coexist with developing countries, small island states and vulnerable coastal communities. Their scientific capacities differ, but their dependence on the sea for food, trade, energy, livelihoods and climate resilience is shared. India’s scientific and technological partnerships should therefore advance national capability while helping reduce regional disparities.

Academic cooperation must cross disciplinary boundaries

Academic cooperation cannot be confined to engineering and the physical sciences. Maritime law, ocean governance, economics, environmental studies and the social sciences are equally essential to sound policy. The development of a major port, for example, involves not only design and construction but also biodiversity, coastal ecology, community livelihoods and long-term environmental consequences. Deep-seabed mining similarly requires technological expertise alongside ecological knowledge and robust frameworks for resource governance.

Disaster preparedness offers another illustration. Accurate cyclone and tsunami forecasts depend on oceanographic science and sophisticated technology, but effective responses also require public communication, institutional coordination and an understanding of how coastal communities behave. Research becomes truly valuable when scientific capability is joined to social and institutional understanding.

The Indo-Pacific consequently needs more interdisciplinary research, joint scientific expeditions, scholar exchanges, collaborative education and sharing of research findings. These partnerships must also nurture the next generation of scientists, technologists, maritime professionals and policymakers.

For the Indian Navy, this is more than an abstract academic proposition. As naval warfare becomes more technology-intensive, operational effectiveness will increasingly depend on advanced sensors, autonomous systems, secure communications, underwater technologies and the integration of information from multiple sources. It will also depend on personnel who combine seamanship, leadership and professional competence with scientific literacy and technological proficiency.

India’s contribution to a shared maritime knowledge base

India already possesses a substantial foundation for such cooperation. Hydrographic surveys, navigational charting and training have helped friendly maritime nations better understand their waters and strengthen their capabilities. In ocean information and disaster preparedness, the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) supports scientific collaboration, forecasting and specialist training, including in tsunami modelling and coastal hazard mapping. India also operates one of the Indian Ocean’s three Tsunami Service Providers under the regional arrangements of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.

India participates in the Second International Indian Ocean Expedition and the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science, both of which promote collaborative understanding of ocean circulation, ecosystems, climate and sustainable resource management. Cooperation between India’s Ministry of Earth Sciences and Japan’s Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) spans areas including monsoon and climate modelling, deep-sea exploration, and earthquake and tsunami-related research in the Andaman Sea.

International engagement also extends to deep-ocean exploration and associated capacity-building through the International Seabed Authority, as well as polar research into climate processes and their effects on the oceans. In space applications, ISRO’s cooperation with ASEAN partners on remote-sensing data and training supports environmental monitoring, coastal management and disaster preparedness. Indian institutions, including the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing and the UN-affiliated Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific, contribute to training and knowledge-sharing. The jointly developed NASA–ISRO NISAR satellite offers another example of the benefits of international technological collaboration.

The Navy’s own pursuit of indigenous innovation provides further opportunities for cooperation. The fifth Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Seminar, Swavlamban 2026, demonstrated the effort to connect operational requirements with Indian scientific and industrial capabilities. Sharing the lessons and practices emerging from such initiatives can help partner navies develop solutions suited to their own needs.

Capacity-building as a two-way partnership

An effective regional partnership cannot be built on a one-way transfer of knowledge. India offers training infrastructure, professional expertise and established operational practices, while partner navies contribute local knowledge, experience and distinct perspectives. This reciprocity improves trust, interoperability and collective resilience.

At the ninth Conclave of Chiefs of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium in February 2026, I proposed CORE as a guiding principle for such engagement: Cooperation among maritime security agencies; Operational awareness through a shared understanding of the maritime domain; Resilience against security challenges and disasters; and Engagement through professional exchanges and dialogue.

The Indian Naval Academy, INS Chilka and other training establishments host officers and sailors from partner countries for courses spanning seamanship, navigation and firefighting to simulators and crisis-management techniques. Mobile training teams provide specialist instruction adapted to local requirements. The Indian Ocean Ship (IOS) SAGAR initiative adds an important practical dimension. In 2025, it brought together 44 international crew members from nine countries for training at Kochi in communications, damage control and visit, board, search and seizure procedures, followed by joint training at sea. In 2026, IOS SAGAR embarked a multinational crew drawn from 16 friendly foreign countries during its Indian Ocean deployment.

The objective is not to impose uniformity but to enable each navy to strengthen capabilities that it can sustain and employ effectively. This locally responsive approach is consistent with the inclusive spirit of MAHASAGAR.

Connecting the Navy, universities and think-tanks

Partnerships with academic and research institutions are essential both to innovation and to informed strategy. The Indian Navy has entered into memoranda of understanding with IIT Madras, IIT Delhi and IIT Kanpur in fields including ocean engineering, naval architecture, warship design and emerging technologies. The Marine Engineering Centre at INS Shivaji works with academic and industrial partners on propulsion, energy efficiency and artificial intelligence. Collaborations with institutions such as Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham and Shiv Nadar University support advanced learning in defence technology, cybersecurity and anti-submarine warfare; other university arrangements provide academic recognition for professional courses.

These relationships connect operational experience with scientific research and help build the skills required by future naval personnel. They also contribute to wider national priorities. The Prime Minister’s articulation of seven streams of national strength—Sapt Dhara—includes areas with a direct maritime bearing, notably technology and innovation, logistics, defence, the green and blue economy, and soft power.

Think-tanks perform a complementary function by examining questions that extend beyond immediate military operations. The Navy positions selected research-oriented officers at institutions including the National Maritime Foundation, United Service Institution of India, Centre for Air Power and Strategic Studies, Centre for Joint Warfare Studies, Centre for Land Warfare Studies and Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. It also engages with other institutions, including the Observer Research Foundation and Vivekananda International Foundation.

The National Maritime Foundation, conceived at Naval Headquarters and inaugurated in 2005 with the support of the Navy and Ministry of Defence, has a particular responsibility to advance informed thinking on India’s maritime interests. Its work—and that of the wider research community—helps the Navy examine maritime trade, connectivity, international maritime law, emerging technologies and information-sharing arrangements from perspectives that complement professional military expertise.

From conversation to outcomes

An enduring contribution of the IPRD should not be measured by whether it creates another organisation or framework. India already has MAHASAGAR and the IPOI as guiding visions, alongside established regional mechanisms for cooperation. The value of the dialogue lies in converting informed discussion—samvaad—into proposals that existing institutions and partners can take forward.

This process is already visible. Recommendations relating to IONS from the 2025 IPRD are under consideration during India’s chairmanship of the symposium for 2026–27. A proposal to increase the number of International Liaison Officers at the Information Fusion Centre–Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) is also being pursued. These are examples of how a strategic conversation can inform practical institutional action.

The recently inaugurated Regional Maritime Security Centre of Excellence at the NMF offers another illustration of sustained cooperation. Supported by the governments of India and the United Kingdom, it reflects their joint leadership of the IPOI’s Maritime Security pillar. Its inaugural five-day course addresses non-traditional maritime security challenges in the Indian Ocean Region. Although it is not the direct outcome of any single IPRD, successive dialogues and related forums have reinforced the need for such an initiative.

The task before IPRD 2026 is therefore clear: to identify where scientific partnerships can be expanded, where knowledge and technology gaps can be narrowed, where academic exchanges can become more consequential and where navies and civilian institutions can cooperate more effectively. The ultimate measure of success will be the capabilities developed, the relationships strengthened and the maritime challenges addressed together.

India’s approach to the Indo-Pacific rests on the conviction that maritime security and prosperity are shared endeavours. In an age of accelerating technological change and growing ecological and strategic uncertainty, science, technology and academic cooperation are not peripheral to that endeavour. They are among their most important foundations.

Also Read | Delhi Chokes As AQI Touches 428; 714 Vehicles Turned Back, 38 Impounded In GRAP Crackdown