President Donald Trump has renamed the US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) as the US Pacific Command (USPACOM). It was during his first presidential term that the USPACOM was named USINDOPACOM in 2018.

Established in 1947, the Pacific Command is the oldest and the largest of the 11 unified combatant commands in the US military that are spared over six geographical commands. It has played important role in the US’s military campaigns in the post-Second World War era. The Korean War and the Vietnam War were part of the US Pacific Command. India is a part of the Pacific Command and it stretches from the western coast of the US to India’s western border.

The change in name comes at a time when President Donald Trump is warming up to China. The timing of the action is also hard to miss. Indo-Pacific Command became Pacific Command close on the heels of Trump’s visit to Beijing in May this year. For its part, China has always opposed the concept of Indo-Pacific. Beijing’s reservations about this concept stem from the belief that this construct is a mechanism to counter China in East, Southeast and South Asia. While India, the US and other like-minded countries have felt the need to check China’s growing strategic assertion, the reversal of the name by the US is giving mixed signals. It is important to examine the possible motives behind this move.

By renaming the Indo-Pacific Command as Pacific Command, the US has clarified its position as to the nature of engagements it expects from this region or construct. The US primarily views this command from military perspective. Although the Indo-Pacific had military element in it, it was not the only factor for cooperation. India, representing the Indo component, viewed the region as a means to cooperating in multiple domains such as trade and investment, infrastructure, technology, climate change, supply chains, vaccine diplomacy as also defence and security cooperation. From the US viewpoint, the purpose of the Indo-Pacific and for that matter even the Quad appears to be vague. Also, in the recent past the lack of enthusiasm on the part of the Quad countries has put the grouping in somewhat dormant mode. Contrary to this two US-led grouping are gaining traction simultaneously.

First, the AUKUS. Formed in 2021, it is a trilateral cooperation between the US, the UK and Australia. The AUKUS is based on two pillars – first is Australia acquiring conventional nuclear-powered submarine capabilities and second is the three countries pooling their military resources. Under Pillar 1, Australia will purchase three to five Virginia-class submarines from the US. Under Pillar 2, Australia, along with the UK will develop a new class of conventionally armed but nuclear-powered submarines known as the SSN-AUKUS. In May, on the side-lines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, the three countries announced, under Pillar 2, the joint development of payloads and enabling systems for un-crewed undersea vehicles (UUVs), which are expected to be inducted into service in 2027.

Second, the US-Japan-South Korea trilateral. Formed in 2023, the US-Japan-South Korea is a trilateral security alliance. Within a short span of three years, this alliance is showing rapid growth with military exercises, ministerial meetings and new maritime frameworks. The primary aim of this grouping is to contain the threat from North Korea as also China.

In business terminology, the US considers the AUKUS and the US-Japan-South Korea trilateral as deliverables and even smart investments. These arrangements have a clear and specific purpose and are restricted to one domain – military cooperation. Obviously these two are small specific targets that are achievable and are expected to produce tangible results.

So, while Trump’s approach towards China may have raised questions about the way the US perceives strategic threat from Beijing, the AUKUS and the US-Japan-South Korea trilateral indicate the US’s intention to maintain a strategic hold in the Pacific Region.

As mentioned earlier, India falls under the responsibility of the Pacific Command. Also, the military exercise Valiant Shield 2026 (VS2026) held between the US and is allies in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Japan and at sea around the Mariana Islands Range Complex from June 22 to July 1. The official US Navy website has mentioned this region as Indo-Pacific.

This implies that while the US may not have totally de-recognized the construct of the Indo-Pacific Region, the recent reverting to the old name Pacific Command underscores that for the US, the region remains more of a military concept and a part of its overall security architecture.

The US had given boost to the concept of Indo-Pacific by integrating the Indo factor in its own command to elevate defence ties with India. Now with the modified arrangements, it remains to be seen how the two powers work their way around different visions of the same region and still maintain a robust relationship.

Mr. Niranjan Marjani is a political analyst and researcher based in Vadodara, India.