Swaran Singh is professor and chair of Centre for International Politics, Organization and Disarmament (CIPOD), School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University and president of the Association of Asia Scholars (New Delhi). He has published over a dozen books, including Revisiting Gandhi: Legacies for World Peace and National Integration (2022), Colonial Legacies and Contemporary Studies on China and Chineseness (2021) and Corridors of Engagement (2020). He regularly speaks and writes on Asian affairs.Reena Marwah is professor at Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi, India. She has published 16 books, including Re-imagining India Thailand Relations: A Multilateral and Bilateral Perspective (2020), China’s Economic Footprint in South and Southeast Asia: A Futuristic Perspective (2021) and India-Vietnam Relations: Development Dynamics and Strategic Alignment (2022).

• List of Tables Acknowledgements Preface List of Contributors List of Abbreviations 1 Institutions, Issues, and Actors in the Indo-Pacific SWARAN SINGH AND REENA MARWAHSECTION 1Decoding New Trends and Templates 2 Multilateralism in the Asia-Pacific Region: Genesis and Evolution ASHIS ADHIKARY3 Multilateralism 2.0: Its Emerging Contours DEVYANI CHATURVEDI4 Economic Multilateralism in the Indo-Pacific Region KATYAYINEE RICHHARIYA5 ASEAN Centrality in the Indo-Pacific Security Architecture VIGNESH RAM6 Climate Change Challenges: A Study of Island States in the Indo-Pacific MADHURA B. BANESECTION 2New Regional Institutional Initiatives 7 Quad in the Indo-Pacific: Rhetoric versus Reality RUSHALI SAHA8 Quad as Asian NATO: A Practical Proposition? MAHIMA DUGGAL9 Quad HADR Strategy for the Indo-Pacific CHANCHAL SAROWA10 RCEP: The New Paradigm of Economic Multilateralism GARIMA SANGWAN11 BIMSTEC in the Indo-Pacific: Examining the Role of India OINDRILA DATTAGUPTA12 Five Eyes and the Evolving Indo-Pacific Paradigm SWASTI RAO13 Maritime Multilateralism: Examining Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative SILKY KAURIndex

“[This] newly published volume […] breaks away from […] a great power-centered perspective. […] The goal of this volume is to reveal how middle powers’ interests have converged in forging new minilateral and multilateral platforms while attempting to offset the risk of hard power balancing between great powers. […] As the idea of ‘multilateralism 2.0’ indicates, new regional actors and new domains of engagement emerge, constituting a network, instead of an inflexible format of treaty-based alliances. This volume contributes by revealing various types of alignments in the region from the perspectives of both great powers and marginalized players, which allows readers to grasp a holistic understanding in the making of the Indo-Pacific. Thus, this volume will be worthy of exploration by all scholars, policymakers, and even students who hope to enhance their understanding of the current dynamics of multilateralism in the Indo-Pacific.”- Kuyoun Chung, Kangwon National University, Republic of Korea, Journal of the Indian Ocean Region, 08 May 2023