Deconstructing media narratives of the Indo-Pacific strategy: Exploring India's ontological security and national identity in the *Times of India*

The study investigates how elite media narratives in India, specifically the Times of India (TOI), frame the country's Indo-Pacific strategy to uphold ontological security and communicate national identity. As India transitions from Nehruvian nonalignment toward a more assertive regional posture, especially after adopting the Indo-Pacific construct and participating in the Quad, a key challenge is aligning foreign policy shifts with a coherent national self-understanding. The paper asks how TOI constructs the reality of the Indo-Pacific strategy, how it narrates India’s actual and imagined selves, and how these narratives preserve ontological security while signaling geopolitical ambitions.

The paper draws on ontological security theory (Laing, Giddens, Kinnvall, Steele), emphasizing states’ needs for continuity, order, and a coherent self-narrative, especially amid crises. Narratives provide cognitive bridges linking policy change to identity continuity (Subotić) and shape positive self/other imaging (Chernobrov). The authors situate India’s identity formation within historical legacies: Sanatana Dharma-inspired exceptionalism (unity in diversity), the postcolonial construction of a cohesive 'us' versus threatening 'others' (Pakistan, China), and the rise of Hindutva politics that reinterprets unity in diversity in hierarchical terms. They review scholarship on the Indo-Pacific’s emergence in U.S., Japanese, Australian, and Indian policy discourse, and note India’s preference for an inclusive, multilateral approach given complex ties with China. The literature on Indian media-government relations suggests elite media often align with dominant political interests, with TOI historically reflecting government narratives and influencing public understanding of national security and identity.

Conceptual framework: Guided by Entman’s framing theory, the study examines how media select and make salient aspects of perceived reality through four functions: defining problems, diagnosing causes, making moral judgments, and suggesting remedies. The analysis attends equally to inclusions/emphases and exclusions/downplays in texts. Research subject: The Times of India (TOI), India’s largest-selling English-language daily with a predominantly elite, educated readership, noted for nuanced but generally pro-government positioning. Data collection: The authors collected all TOI items containing the key phrase 'Indo-Pacific strategy' from June 2019 (following the U.S. DoD Indo-Pacific Strategic Report) to May 2021. After filtering out incidental mentions and unrelated pieces, 47 texts remained, including news reports, editorials, commentaries, and reprints authored by 25 contributors (only three professional journalists; the remainder were officials, diplomats, academics, and military/technical experts). Publication peaked in September 2020 and March 2021 (seven articles each). Analysis: The authors conducted close textual analysis of each item to identify Entman’s four framing functions and evaluated the persuasive force of embedded messages. Through iterative coding and comparison of notes, they identified two interwoven frames: (1) Safeguarding national security by engaging in the Indo-Pacific strategy (urgent necessity vis-à-vis China), and (2) Envisioning national identity by advancing an Indian Indo-Pacific vision (India as a moral-spiritual, inclusive, rule-shaping leader distinct from but comparable to the United States).

- TOI constructed China as a rule-breaking, expansionist threat undermining sovereignty and human rights across the Indo-Pacific, invoking historical (1962, 1967 border conflicts; later standoffs) and contemporary disputes (South China Sea, Aksai Chin, Senkaku/Diaoyu, Vietnam’s EEZ) to define the problem and diagnose causes. - The framing emphasized urgency and necessity for India to engage robustly with the Indo-Pacific strategy and the Quad to counterbalance China, while downplaying or omitting traditional Nehruvian nonalignment. One explicit call framed Nehruvian legacies as inadequate for current challenges. - TOI used selective historical memory: it analogized China to Nazi Germany’s aggression while recasting Japan’s WWII legacy as obsolete in light of contemporary pacifism, thus legitimizing India–Japan cooperation within a 'free and open Indo-Pacific.' - Human rights discourse (Tibet, Hong Kong, Xinjiang; Galwan casualties) reinforced moral evaluation of China and justified India’s shift towards coalition-building and deterrence. - TOI contrasted U.S. approaches (Trump’s unilateral militancy; Biden’s multilateralism with potential risks of militarization and accommodation of China) with India’s envisioned inclusive, multilateral leadership. It advised India to cooperate with the U.S. but retain strategic autonomy and avoid overreliance given ambiguities in U.S.–China ties and U.S. stances on issues like Kashmir. - The Indian vision promoted practical remedies: Supply Chain Resilience Initiative with Japan and Australia to reduce dependence on China; deeper ties with Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei; restoring ASEAN centrality (noting concerns over Brunei/Cambodia leadership); publishing a defense white paper; and accelerating defense cooperation. - TOI framed India as a 'rule shaper' and exceptional moral-spiritual leader capable of organizing coalitions, upholding a rules-based order, and voicing developing countries’ aspirations—thereby preserving ontological security while signaling great-power ambitions. - Descriptive statistics/context: 47 TOI items (June 2019–May 2021); peaks in Sept 2020 and Mar 2021 (7 each). Only 3/25 authors were career journalists, indicating reliance on elite expert voices. Defense spending context cited: India’s military expenditure rose 6.8% in 2019, making it the world’s third-largest defense spender.

The findings show that TOI’s framing supports India’s ontological security by narratively reconciling policy shifts (from strict nonalignment to Indo-Pacific engagement) with a stable, morally exceptional national identity. By defining China as both a physical and normative threat, TOI legitimates coalition-building and strategic adjustments while preserving a sense of continuity through appeals to Indian exceptionalism and rule-based leadership. Comparing U.S. and Indian approaches allows TOI to position India as similar enough to cooperate closely with the U.S. yet distinct in its inclusive, multilateral ethos—mitigating identity anxiety over dependence on a great power. Exclusions (limited discussion of nonalignment) and selective historical memory function to align public understanding with the government’s coalitional diplomacy (Act East/Look East) and to normalize India’s proactive regional role. These media narratives play an instrumental role in shaping domestic consent for strategic choices and in projecting a coherent identity internationally.

Through textual analysis of 47 TOI articles on the Indo-Pacific strategy, the study demonstrates how elite media framed China as a pressing threat, advanced the urgency of India’s engagement in the Quad, downplayed Nehruvian nonalignment, and elevated an Indian-led, inclusive, rule-based regional vision. In doing so, TOI helped preserve India’s ontological security by articulating a coherent national self rooted in moral-spiritual exceptionalism, while communicating ambitions to act as a regional and potentially global leader distinct from, yet cooperative with, the United States. The paper contributes to understanding media’s role in identity construction and foreign policy legitimation in a rising power. Future research should broaden the media corpus beyond elite English-language outlets to include vernacular and populist media ecosystems, extend the temporal scope to capture evolving Indo-Pacific dynamics, and compare cross-national media framings within Quad and ASEAN states.

The sample is limited to the Times of India, an elite English-language outlet, and thus may not represent broader Indian media narratives, particularly in vernacular or populist spheres. The timeframe (June 2019–May 2021) captures a specific period; news content is time-sensitive and may not reflect subsequent developments in India’s Indo-Pacific policy or the Quad’s evolution. The small corpus (47 items) may miss important trends not covered in TOI reporting.