Pentagon restores US Pacific Command name after dropping 'Indo'

WASHINGTON: The Pentagon said on Tuesday it is changing the name of the US Indo-Pacific Command back to the US Pacific Command, reversing a renaming decision taken in 2018.

In a statement, the Department of War said the command’s area of responsibility would remain the same, extending from western India to the Pacific coastline of the United States. It added that the command’s core mission and commitment to a free and open regional theatre with allies and partners would not be altered by the move.

The department said the change was intended to recognise the command’s long institutional history and to strengthen pride and unity among personnel serving in the Pacific. It did not provide further details on the decision.

The US Pacific Command was created by former president Harry Truman after World War II and kept that name for more than 70 years. In 2018, it was redesignated as the US Indo-Pacific Command to reflect the increasing strategic weight of the Indian Ocean in US policy thinking, a shift that also formed part of wider American efforts to counter China’s expanding influence across the Asia-Pacific region.