"On June 1, 2018, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the Shangri-La Dialogue formally announced his country’s Indo-Pacific policy. He also said that India advocated an independent, free, and inclusive Indo-Pacific system in the region. At the same time, major steps were taken to strengthen relations with the US, Japan and Australia through the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. It is important to note here that India had been avoiding connecting the Quad directly to the Indo-Pacific. The Indian government also tried to end the skepticism of the Southeast Asian countries by calling for the Indo-Pacific policy to keep New Delhi’s “Act East” policy and ASEAN countries at the center. However, Indian policymakers soon realized that if the Indo-Pacific regional system was to materialize, then faster and bigger steps would have to be taken. In November 2019, during the 14th East Asia Summit in Bangkok, Modi announced the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative. Recently, this was once again glimpsed when External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited Sri Lanka from January 5-7, where he insisted on promoting cooperation between India and its neighbors under the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative. There is no doubt that despite the difficulties and ups and downs, India’s cooperation with every country in South Asia, except Pakistan, has increased..."