The old but new geographical term ¡°Indo-Pacific¡± is now increasingly used to replace ¡°Asia-Pacific.¡± In August 2016, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unveiled his regional vision called the ¡°free and open Indo-Pacific strategy.¡± U.S. President Donald Trump echoed the phrase ¡°free and open Indo-Pacific¡± during his first Asia tour in November and in his administration¡¯s national security strategy released in December.
Australia, which referred to the Indo-Pacific in its 2013 defense white paper, again cited the phrase in its 2017 foreign policy white paper. India¡¯s strategic community also understands the geostrategic importance of the Indo-Pacific to their country. In November, senior diplomats from Japan, Australia, India and the United States met in Manila and agreed to ensure a free and open international order in the Indo-Pacific based on the rule of law.
It remains to be seen, however, whether all these countries are closely aligned in what they see in their ¡°Indo-Pacific strategy,¡± in particular as to whether they view China as a ¡°competitor.¡±
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