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Rescaling to the Indo-Pacific: From Economic to Security-Driven Regionalism in Asia

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Jeffrey D. Wilson
Jeffrey D. Wilson
Jeffrey D. Wilson
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The ‘Indo-Pacific’ has emerged as the newest addition to the lexicon of Asian regionalism. Conceived of as the conjunction of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, it reflects the belief that maritime linkages require extending Asian regionalism westwards to include countries on the Indian Ocean rim. It also competes with the longstanding ‘Asia-Pacific’ conceptualisation of the region, and four governments—Australia, India, Japan and the USA—have adopted it into their foreign policies. Much of the debate on the Indo-Pacific focusses on how it institutionally ‘rescales’ Asian regionalism through the incorporation of Indian Ocean states. This article considers the functional rescaling that attends this process: namely, what kind of regionalism is implied by the Indo-Pacific concept? It argues that the Indo-Pacific is a security-focussed regional project, reflecting the desire of its proponents to form a quadrilateral bloc to resist China’s growing maritime assertiveness. This security region is radically different from the Asia-Pacific concept, where regionalism was primarily driven by economic integration and cooperation. The Indo-Pacific thus marks a more contested period in Asia’s international politics, where the functional purpose of regional cooperation is being reoriented from economic- to security-focussed agendas.
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Jeffrey D. Wilson
1
Received: 23 January 2018 /Accepted: 2 April 2018 /Published online: 14 April 2018
#Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature 2018
Abstract The ‘Indo-Pacific’has emerged as the newest addition to the lexicon of
Asian regionalism. Conceived of as the conjunction of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, it
reflects the belief that maritime linkages require extending Asian regionalism west-
wards to include countries on the Indian Ocean rim. It also competes with the
longstanding ‘Asia-Pacific’conceptualisation of the region, and four governments—
Australia, India, Japan and the USA—have adopted it into their foreign policies. Much
of the debate on the Indo-Pacific focusses on how it institutionally ‘rescales’Asian
regionalism through the incorporation of Indian Ocean states. This article considers the
functional rescaling that attends this process: namely, what kind of regionalism is
implied by the Indo-Pacific concept? It argues that the Indo-Pacific is a security-
focussed regional project, reflecting the desire of its proponents to form a quadrilateral
bloc to resist China’s growing maritime assertiveness. This security region is radically
different from the Asia-Pacific concept, where regionalism was primarily driven by
economic integration and cooperation. The Indo-Pacific thus marks a more contested
period in Asia’s international politics, where the functional purpose of regional coop-
eration is being reoriented from economic- to security-focussed agendas.
Keywords Indo-Pacific .Asia-Pacific .Asia .Regionalism .Economic governance .
Security governance
Introduction
Recent years are witnessing a new and radical development in the politics of Asian
regionalism: the emergence of the ‘Indo-Pacific’as a new geographic construct. For
three decades, almost all governments used the concept of the ‘Asia-Pacific’to describe
East Asia (2018) 35:177–196
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12140-018-9285-6
*Jeffrey D. Wilson
j.wilson@murdoch.edu.au
1
Asia Research Centre, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia
Rescaling to the Indo-Pacific: From Economic
to Security-Driven Regionalism in Asia
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
... n further developed this concept, reshaping it in 2018 as the Indo-Pacific Cooperation Concept (IPCC) (Scott 2019). The Indo-Pacific encompasses the territory between the two oceans, however, as argued by Dewi Fortuna Anwar (2020, 114), it represents 'a widening (not shifting) of focus from Asia -Pacific to Indo-Pacific' (see also Shehkar 2018;cf.;Wilson 2018). ...
... Indonesia's vision for Indo-Pacific cooperation is not solely shaped by its maritime and middle power identity (Shehkar 2018) but also influenced by great power politics in the Asia -Pacific (Wilson 2018). The increasing role of China in the region, its stance on the South China Sea, and evolving relations between the US and China have fostered cooperation among actors seeking to elevate their status vis-à-vis these major powers (He and Mingjiang 2020). ...
... It aligns with Indonesia's discourse regarding regional changes, encompassing narratives of the system and relevant issues, and emphasises the necessity to address these changes through cooperative efforts rooted in dialogue and inclusiveness. As J.D. Wilson (2018) concludes, Asia -Pacific cooperation is primarily driven by economic considerations, while the Indo -Pacific places greater emphasis on security matters. This raises the question of how various forms of institutional interaction can be comprehensively explained. ...
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