Washington, June 17: The US has restored the name of the US Indo-Pacific Command to the US Pacific Command, reversing an eight-year-old decision.
The US Department of Defence announced the decision on Tuesday, saying that the designation honours the Command’s deep historical roots, established in 1947 by then-President Harry Truman.
Also, the “area of responsibility” map on the Pacific Command website, which depicts an inaccurate picture of India’s borders, has triggered political reactions in the country. The map in question excludes Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Aksai Chin from India.
The website section where the inaccurate map is placed contains a disclosure that the concerned web page was last updated in March.
New Delhi maintains that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral and inalienable parts of India by virtue of the “complete, legal and irrevocable accession” of Jammu and Kashmir to India in 1947.
Opposition party Congress has criticised the BJP-led government over the map issue.
Congress’ media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said: “Modi Ji’s friends have an uncanny habit of acting against India, India’s interests, and India’s friends. The latest example? The US Pacific Command used an incorrect map of India, excluding Jammu & Kashmir and depicting PoK as Pakistani territory.”
“One is compelled to ask: Why would any country need adversaries when its PM has thrown the country into such exploitative friendships?” Khera said.
The Pacific Command operated under the USPACOM banner for over 70 years, standing as the oldest and largest of the United States’ unified combatant commands, the Department of Defence said in a statement.
It was renamed as the US Indo-Pacific Command in 2018 during US President Donald Trump’s first term in office.
“The US Pacific Command … is back,” Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a post on X.
The US Pacific Command extends from the US West Coast to India’s western border.
Restoring the legacy USPACOM designation honours the Command’s deep historical roots, fostering a sense of pride and collective spirit among all who serve in the Pacific, the Department of Defence said.
From its critical role in establishing the post-World War II regional security architecture to its coordination of joint forces during the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and countless humanitarian operations, the USPACOM namesake carries decades of military heritage and enduring regional partnerships, it said.
USPACOM’s vast area of responsibility, spanning from the waters off the West Coast of the United States to the western border of India, remains the same, the statement said.
The command’s fundamental mission and its unwavering commitment to maintaining a free and open theatre alongside regional allies and partners are unchanged, the Department of Defence said.
In 2018, then-Defence Secretary James Mattis had said that the name was changed to Indo-Pacific Command in recognition of the increasing connectivity between the Indian and Pacific oceans.
The command stretches from Bollywood to Hollywood, and from penguins to polar bears, and plays an important part in America’s National Defence Strategy, Mattis had said in 2018. (PTI)
