US Drops 'Indo' From Pacific Command, and a Map Reopens an Old Wound

The Pentagon renamed USINDOPACOM back to USPACOM on June 16, 2026, dropping 'Indo' after eight years.

An accompanying command map showed PoK and Aksai Chin outside India's borders, triggering outrage.

The 2018 'Indo-Pacific' label was itself a strategic nod to India's rising weight in Asia.

Shashi Tharoor called it 'one more nail in the coffin of the Quad'; officials insist cooperation is unaffected.

US maps of India have been inconsistent before, so the gaffe fits a frustrating pattern.