How are Asia-Pacific and Indo-Pacific Strategy Different?

The war between Russia and Ukraine has set the entire world ablaze, and tensions between the United States and China are also rising. The geographical divides of the world for military and economic dominance are to blame for these issues. Asia-Pacific and Indo-Pacific are two areas of great interest.

Asia Pacific

East Asia and South Asia are included in the Asia-Pacific region of the world, which is close to and next to the western Pacific Ocean. Oceania and Southeast Asia. Regarding the Asia-Pacific, it has access to various countries in the Americas, the northern Pacific Ocean, and parts of Russia. East of the ocean, to be precise.

The Asia-Pacific area comprises 21 members of APEC (APEC). There are 46 nations and territories in the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Canada, China, Chile, Cook Islands,Fiji, French Polynesia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Republic of Nauru, Nepal, New Zealand, News Caledonia, Niue, North Korea, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Vietnam, and the United States.

Indo-Pacific

In terms of location, Indo-Pacific is identical to Asia-Pacific; nevertheless, Indo-Pacific is more than just a new moniker. Instead of the Asia-Pacific, which is used. The use of the term Indo-Pacific nowadays rather than Asia-Pacific has a geopolitical connotation that stresses transformation or the strategic development of the region's superpowers. Focus is placed on two main areas as the plan transitions from Asia to Indo-Pacific.

The first is the rising attention being paid to the Indian Ocean and India, both considered significant regions. Both monetarily and in terms of security, there is potential. The "Indo-Pacific" policy's second goal is to contain China's growing regional influence. This containment plan must create the Chinese Opposition Coalition in the "Indo-Pacific" region; four nations—the United States, Japan, Australia, and India—joined forces. As a result, it is noted that these four nations have utilized the term "Indo-Pacific" the most recently.

In November 2017, during Donald Trump's address in Da Nang, Vietnam, the United States formally announced its strategy for the Indo-Pacific region. on the occasion of the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Donald Trump referred to the new approach as "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" at the time.

The term "Indo-Pacific" describes the region from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. However, the phrase is typically used to refer to both words with a geographic meaning and a specific geographic location.

Power is transferred from the West to the East through the Indo-Pacific area. The phrase Indo-Pacific refers to the enormous region of space, although the geographical expansion has not yet been decided. East Asian boundaries are crossed to reach the western Pacific Ocean, which is home to Japan and Australia, from the Indian Ocean. Australia, Bangladesh, Potato, Brunei, Cambodia, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Palestine, Maldives, Myanmar, Maple, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea are included in the list of 24 countries that make up the Indo-Pacific area as of 2020. United States, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and East Timor.

Indo-Pacific Economic Framework

The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, also known as IPEF , is the name of the US government's new economic strategy for the Indo-Pacific region, formally unveiled on May 23, 2021.

13 nations, including the US, Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam, are inaugural members of the framework. 40% of the global economy is comprised of the 13 member nations.

In a joint statement, the 13 member states emphasized that all countries seek to coordinate cooperation through this endeavor. Operation for regional peace, prosperity, and development.

The United States views the Indo-Pacific economic framework, which differs from the free financial agreement, as a new type of economic agreement for the twenty-first century. Back then. The framework is built on four pillars: access, investment in sustainable energy, supply chain assurance, and trade recovery. Taxes and corruption prevention. However, all members are not obligated to concentrate on the four pillars mentioned above because those nations are free to select any of the pillars.

US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo praised the new economic initiative as a return of US leadership. After leaving the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal, China sponsored the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in the Indo-Pacific area (RCEP).

According to Zhao Lijian, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the Indo-Pacific economic system is pushing Southeast Asian nations away from China. The Indo-Pacific region is not a geopolitical platform, Zhao further emphasized.

The framework is interpreted by many experts as an indication that the United States is solely interested in maintaining military security in the area and "does not care about economic cooperation."

Since the 10 ASEAN members want to join as a group, most nations desire a larger membership because it will promote regional commerce and investment.

China-related concerns Many regional governments question the usefulness of an economic agreement that excludes China. China is also a significant investor and trading partner for numerous nations. This could pose a lot of difficulties.

Even the stagnating allies of the United States, like Australia, sell more commodities to China than the latter country does. The United States, up to 13 times, as well as countries in Southeast Asia, have tight ties to the supply chain based in China .

By 2021, trade between China and ASEAN would be $878 billion, exceeding trade between ASEAN and the US ($384 billion).

To link diplomatic, political, economic, and trade relations with nations like Southeast Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and beyond to Europe, the new era of the Silk Road is much larger than the ancient Silk Road, making the United States even more concerned about expanding its influence. It should be noted that the President of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping, has also established a new Silk Road policy, the Belt and Road Policy. China is more powerful than itself.