Indo-Pacific

The emergence of the Indo-Pacific as a single strategic system encompassing the Indian and Pacific oceans has profound defence and geopolitical implications for how Australia views and interacts with its region. The Lowy Institute has been prominent in developing and promoting an Indo-Pacific framework for understanding Asian security dynamics, particularly in relation to the rise of China and India.

The Strategic/ Geo-political Context

Since 2011, the term ‘Indo-Pacific’ is being used increasingly in the global strategic/ geo-political discourse. The term was first used in an article carried in the January 2007 issue of the Strategic Analysis journal (Routledge/ IDSA) titled 'Security of Sea Lines: Prospects for India-Japan Cooperation'. In the article, the term ‘Indo-Pacific’ refers to the maritime space stretching from the littorals of East Africa and West Asia, across the Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean, to the littorals of East Asia. ^[2] The spirit of the term was picked up by Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as reflected in his speech to the Indian Parliament in August 2007 that talked about the “Confluence of the Indian and Pacific Oceans” as “the dynamic coupling as seas of freedom and of prosperity” in the “broader Asia”.^[3]Since then, the term has been used frequently by strategic analysts and high-level government/ military leadership in Australia, India, Japan and the US to denote the said region. However, a formal/ official documented articulation of the term first appeared in Australia’s Defence White Paper, 2013.^[4]