Why Trump’s Pentagon Abandoned ‘Indo-Pacific’

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In a surprise move this week, the U.S. Defense Department announced that Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM)—the Hawaii-based headquarters for all U.S. armed forces in the Pacific and eastern Indian oceans—would revert to its original name, Pacific Command, or PACOM. The Pentagon argued, “Restoring the legacy [of the] USPACOM designation honors the command’s deep historical roots, fostering a sense of pride and collective spirit among all who serve in the Pacific.” This may be true, but it’s at least equally true that returning to the original name aligns more comfortably with U.S. President Donald Trump’s desire to tone down competition against China in favor of engagement and deal-making.

Indeed, it was Trump himself who, during his first term in 2018, decided to change the name from PACOM to INDOPACOM. Speaking on Trump’s behalf, then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis noted that the new designation reflected “the increasing connectivity between the Indian and Pacific oceans.” The switch did not alter the command’s geographic area of responsibility, stretching from the U.S. West Coast to the waters off India—or “Hollywood to Bollywood,” as former commander Harry Harris used to say. Rather, the name change bolstered the first Trump administration’s vision of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific,” which Trump first announced during his visit to Vietnam in 2017. That vision—which then became official U.S. strategy—originally came from former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who wanted democratic countries, including Australia, India, Japan, and the United States, to work together to prevent authoritarian China from converting the South China Sea into “Lake Beijing.”