INDO PACIFIC STATECRAFT

The Indo-Pacific region is emblematical of great power competition involving the US and China. It is marked by military infrastructure buildup-operational manoeuvers in the western Pacific and ‘flag showing missions' by extra regional powers. Consequently a variety of bilateral and multilateral groupings based on convergence of interests such as the Quad (Australia, India, Japan and the US) are mushrooming. Notwithstanding their ongoing geopolitical and geostrategic contestation, the Quad Members have also been discussing global challenges such as the COVID19 pandemic, climate change, resilient infrastructure, critical and emerging technologies, cyber security and space. Likewise the ASEAN Outlook for Indo-Pacific (AOIP), the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) and the Indo Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) provide hope for stability in the Indo-Pacific.