III Spain-India Forum: Defence and Security in the Indo-Pacific
The participation of Spain and the European Union in the security architecture of the Indo-Pacific was analysed in this session | Executive Summary III Spain-India Forum
The second session of the III Spain-India Forum, entitled "Towards a new Indo-Pacific security architecture: Partnerships in defence capacity-building", brought together leading experts to exchange ideas and perspectives on Spain's and the European Union's participation in the Indo-Pacific security architecture.
Emilio de Miguel, Ambassador-at-Large for the Indo-Pacific at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain, opened the session with opening remarks, providing an in-depth insight into Spain's position and strategic vision in the region. In line with this, Paramita Tripathi, Joint Secretary (Oceania & the Indo-Pacific) in the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, presented the Indian perspective and different initiatives in the challenging Indo-Pacific scenario.
Eva Borreguero, Professor and South Asia expert at the Complutense University of Madrid, moderated the panel. Abhijit Singh, Head, Maritime Policy Initiative at ORF, provided maritime expertise, offering reflections on the security dynamics that are shaping the Indo-Pacific architecture. Colonel Pardo de Santayana, Research Coordinator and Senior Analyst at the Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies, shared valuable perspectives on the region's evolving security, as well as the challenges it faces in an increasingly volatile and uncertain geopolitical climate.
Representing the business sector, Arjun Myne, Associate Vice President Aircraft Programmes at Tata Advanced Systems, and Jorge Tamarit, C295 India Programme Manager at Airbus Defence and Space, detailed their collaboration in strengthening India's defence capabilities, with a special focus on the Tata/Airbus C295 project. José Porto, Managing Director of Navantia India, shared the experience of the Spanish company while highlighting Navantia's potential for Indian maritime security.
The session concluded with an open dialogue, which allowed for a deeper exploration of regional security and defence partnerships in the Indo-Pacific, consolidating a space in which experts, government and private sector representatives exchanged crucial ideas for the design of strategies in the region, amidst a dynamic and challenging geopolitical scenario.
