From the FB page of:
India is being cut out of the title of the US force dominating Asia, it was revealed just now.
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth tweeted on X an hour ago that “US Indo-Pacific Command” will revert to its old name, “US Pacific Command”.
This is the latest of multiple moves from the western allies against India.
- The US attacked three Indian ships last week, killing three sailors. The US left the ships to sink, and the surviving sailors were rescued by Oman.
- Earlier this week, the UK armed forces grabbed an Indian-run ship, the Smyrtos, as it passed through the Straits of Dover on its way to India.
Both acts appear to contravene international law, specialists say.
EXPLOITING INDIA AS A PARTNER
The “Indo-Pacific” name was introduced in May 2018 by the US armed forces to emphasize the US's favoring of India and the Indian Ocean area.
In mid-2025, the US military instructed the international mainstream media to use “Indo-Pacific” in place of “Asia-Pacific”. The media obeyed, as Google searches confirm, with a huge spike in the use of that name.
At the time, the US believed it could exploit India as a partner to maintain western domination over Asia--as specified in US foreign policy.
But the US and its vassal ("ally") the UK appear to have changed attitude to India these days, and so the “Indo” is disappearing from the name with immediate effect. US Indo-Pacific Command is now US Pacific Command.
Hegseth’s announcement of the name reversion today echoes his earlier move – to change Department of Defense to the (admittedly more accurate) Department of War.
ILLEGAL UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
The UK seizure is an astonishing story.
On Sunday this week, the UK armed forces grabbed the Smyrtos, as it passed through the English channel on its way to Sikka in India.
The Smyrtos is owned by a Hong Kong-registered company, Zhao Yao Shipping Ltd, and is managed by a company in Tamil Nadu, India.
The UK claimed it was a stateless ship carrying Russian oil – but the seizure would still be illegal under international law, said Craig Murray, former Head of Maritime Section of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Just because the US or an ally creates a sanction, that has no force of law in a transnational context.
DIRTY TRICK
Murray shared an untold story. When the Smyrtos began its journey, it was flying the Cameroonian flag and was listed on the Cameroonian register.
But after it had set sail, the EU and UK threatened to halt development aid to Cameroon unless they removed Russia-friendly vessels from their shipping register.
“So the UK blackmailed Cameroon into deregistering the ship. Then, before the ship could reach a friendly port, the UK boarded it because it had been deregistered,” said Murray.
It may surprise some people that western nations should do such a dirty trick. “The UK actions are patently – and deliberately – unreasonable,” Murray added.
But the UK public is not hearing the real facts – it is “an astonishing story which the media will not tell you”, he said.
MODI IN A SPOT
These actions put Indian leader Narenda Modi in a spot. He has been energetically cozying up to the United States and Israel, despite their unpopularity among the people of India.
Now his people are asking: when will he give India a more independent, assertive stance?
It's a very long stretch of the now for Tan Khai Beng to call the events abandoning "India"
ReplyDeleteSmyrtos is a Hong Kong (China).owned vessel. If anything ,its a sign of disregard for China,.nothing surprising there.
The "India -run ships" were registered in other countries for Dark Fleet purposes.. they knew very wel they were subject to seizures any time.
Under international law , Stateless ships are subject to seizure.
Stateless ships are basically lawless, not subject to any country's laws, a potentially very risky situation.