NEW DELHI: On ‘Talking Point‘, Cleo Paskal, Non-Resident Senior Fellow focussing on the Indo-Pacific at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in conversation with StratNews Global Associate Editor Amitabh P. Revi. Cleo Paskal discusses External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar’s trip to Fiji, the first high level visit since the change of government in December 2022, his meetings with Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and other Cabinet Ministers, inaugurating the Vishwa Hindi Sammelan—the World Hindi Conference—with President Ratu Wiliame Katonivere, the “message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi that India’s interests in the Indo-Pacific are very substantial, whether economic, trade, the diaspora, the politics, the security and the strategy, or technology”, the Fiji-India “unique demand-driven development partnership approach”, the Indo-Pacific, Pacific Island Countries, how “India can give China a run for its money in the Pacific Islands”, why a “reengaged India offers options in a realigned world”, big power rivalry in the region, the U.S., Australia’s strategies in the area, “China’s entropic war”, the fight against Beijing’s coercive influence in the Solomon Islands and other PICs and reports of PM Modi making a visit to Papua New Guinea in the first half of 2023.
