Indo-Pacific

{{Short description|Biogeographic marine region of Earth}} {{About|the geographic region|the geopolitical and economic region|Asia-Pacific|the proposed language family|Indo-Pacific languages|the Australian rail service|Indian Pacific}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}

The '''Indo-Pacific''' is a vast [[biogeography|biogeographic]] region of [[Earth]]. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the '''Indo-West Pacific''' or '''Indo-Pacific Asia''', it comprises the tropical waters of the [[Indian Ocean]], the western and central [[Pacific Ocean]], and the seas connecting the two. The term is especially useful in [[marine biology]], [[ichthyology]], and similar fields, since many marine [[habitat]]s are continuously connected from [[Madagascar]] to [[Japan]] and [[Oceanian realm|Oceania]], and a number of species occur over that range, but are not found in the [[Atlantic Ocean]].

As a distinct [[Marine ecoregion#Realms|marine realm]], the region has an exceptionally high [[species richness]], with the world's highest species richness being found in at its heart in the [[Coral Triangle]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Roberts|first1=Callum M.|last2=McClean|first2=Colin J.|last3=Veron|first3=John E. N.|last4=Hawkins|first4=Julie P.|last5=Allen|first5=Gerald R.|last6=McAllister|first6=Don E.|last7=Mittermeier|first7=Cristina G.|last8=Schueler|first8=Frederick W.|last9=Spalding|first9=Mark|last10=Wells|first10=Fred|last11=Vynne|first11=Carly|date=2002-02-15|title=Marine Biodiversity Hotspots and Conservation Priorities for Tropical Reefs|url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1067728|journal=Science|language=en|volume=295|issue=5558|pages=1280–1284|doi=10.1126/science.1067728|pmid=11847338|bibcode=2002Sci...295.1280R|s2cid=25927433|issn=0036-8075|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Veron|first1=J. E. N.|last2=Devantier|first2=Lyndon M.|last3=Turak|first3=Emre|last4=Green|first4=Alison L.|last5=Kininmonth|first5=Stuart|last6=Stafford-Smith|first6=Mary|last7=Peterson|first7=Nate|date=2009|title=Delineating the Coral Triangle|url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/galaxea/11/2/11_2_91/_article/-char/ja/|journal=Galaxea, Journal of Coral Reef Studies|volume=11|issue=2|pages=91–100|doi=10.3755/galaxea.11.91|doi-access=free}}</ref> and a remarkable gradient of decreasing species richness radiating outward in all directions.<ref name=":0" /> The region includes over 3,000 species of fish, compared with around 1,200 in the next richest marine region, the [[Western Atlantic]], and around 500 species of [[coral reef|reef building]] corals, compared with about 50 species in the Western Atlantic.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Helfman |first1=Gene S.|last2=Collette |first2=Bruce B.|author-link2=Bruce Baden Collette|last3=Facey |first3=Douglas E.|year=1997 |title=The Diversity of Fishes |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |pages=274–276 |isbn=0-86542-256-7}}</ref>

The term first appeared in academic use in [[oceanography]] and [[geopolitics]]. Scholarship has shown that the "Indo-Pacific" concept circulated in [[Weimar Germany]], and spread to interwar Japan. German political oceanographers envisioned an "Indo-Pacific" comprising anticolonial India and republican China, as German allies, against "Euro-America".<ref name="Li" />

Since the late 2010s, the term "Indo-Pacific" has been increasingly used in [[geopolitics|geopolitical]] discourse. It is seen by some as a replacement for the "[[Asia-Pacific]]" regional concept which was pioneered by [[Australia]] and Japan in the 1970s and 1980s.<ref name="or">{{Cite web|url=https://orfme.org/expert-speak/the-gulfs-indo-pacific-dilemma/|title=The Gulf’s Indo-Pacific Dilemma|date=2025-11-12|website=Observer Research Foundation - Middle East|last=Aronson|first=Lillian}}</ref> Australia officially transitioned its strategic focus from the 'Asia-Pacific' to the 'Indo-Pacific' in 2013, becoming the first country to formally adopt the Indo-Pacific as its official strategic framework.<ref>{{cite web |title=Australia |url=https://www.sciencespo.fr/observatory-indo-pacific/indo-pacific-strategies/australia/ |publisher=Sciences Po Observatory Indo-Pacific |date=2021 |access-date=23 April 2026 |quote=The Australian Government's 2013 Defence White Paper referred to the Indo-Pacific as THE region in which Australia finds itself. Australia was the first 'mover' in terms of adopting the Indo-Pacific framework as national strategy.}}</ref>As a geopolitical concept, the Indo-Pacific has a "symbiotic link" with the [[Quadrilateral Security Dialogue]], or "Quad", an informal grouping between Australia, Japan, [[India]], and the [[United States]]. It has been argued that the concept may lead to a change in popular "mental maps" of how the world is understood in [[geostrategy|strategic]] terms.<ref name="orf"/> According to the political scientist Amitav Acharya, the "Indo-Pacific" was a concept built by strategists.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://asc.fisipol.ugm.ac.id/2022/08/22/asean-back-in-the-indo-pacific-saddle/ | title=ASEAN Back in the Indo-Pacific Saddle – ASEAN Studies Center Universitas Gadjah Mada | date=22 August 2022 }}</ref> The Indo-Pacific started to gain ground in international relations literature as a geopolitical challenge by the U.S. toward [[China]], which still prefers the regional term Asia-Pacific.<ref name="ankara"/> The companion term "Euro-Atlantic" is often used by European leaders to denote a vaguely defined geopolitical space which is understood to include Europe and North America.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hofmann |first=Stephanie C. |date=2008-04-09 |title=Debating Strategy in NATO: Obstacles to Defining a Meaningful New Strategic Concept |url=https://www.ifri.org/sites/default/files/migrated_files/documents/atoms/files/hofmann12008_3.pdf |website=French Institute of International Relations (Ifri)}}</ref><ref name="euro">Rogers, J., & Hendersjn, M. (2020). ''The Indo-Pacific: British and Vietnamese perspectives''. The Henry Jackson Society, 1-40.</ref> The Euro-Atlantic term is also popular with Chinese leaders.<ref>Peter, M., & Houghton, K. A. (2025). ''The Dayton peace process: a keyhole into Russian and Chinese engagement with liberal peacebuilding''. International Peacekeeping, 1-27.</ref>

In its widest sense, the Indo-Pacific geopolitically covers all nations and islands surrounding either the Indian Ocean or the Pacific Ocean. This definition encompasses mainland African and Asian nations who border these oceans, such as India and [[South Africa]], Indian Ocean territories such as the [[Kerguelen Islands]] and [[Seychelles]], [[Indonesia]] (which is within the bounds of both the Indian Ocean and the Pacific), [[Philippines]], [[Taiwan]], [[China]], [[Korea]], Japan, [[Russia]] and other [[Far East]] nations bordering the Pacific, as well as [[Australia]] and all the [[Pacific Islands]] east of them. The widest geopolitical definition also encompasses Pacific nations of the Americas such as [[Canada]] or [[Mexico]], and the [[subarctic]] areas of the North Pacific, like [[Alaska]]'s [[Bering Sea]] islands.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://amti.csis.org/maritime-claims-map/|title=Maritime Claims of the Indo-Pacific [Interactive map]|website=Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/2025/08/21/where-the-arctic-meets-the-pacific-americas-overlooked-frontline/|title=Where the Arctic meets the Pacific: America’s overlooked frontline|first=Iris|last=Ferguson|date=21 August 2025|website=Defense News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/the-broadening-spectrum-of-india-mexico-ties/ | title=The broadening spectrum of India–Mexico ties | newspaper=Orf }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/where-is-canada-the-missing-indo-pacific-player-stephen-nagy-for-inside-policy/ | title=Where is Canada? The missing Indo-Pacific player: Stephen Nagy for Inside Policy | date=21 March 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://issafrica.org/iss-today/africa-a-low-presence-in-the-first-indo-pacific-forum | title=Africa a low presence in the first Indo-Pacific forum | date=25 February 2022 }}</ref> [[ASEAN]] countries (defined as those in Southeast Asia) are considered to be geographically at the centre of the political Indo-Pacific.<ref>{{Cite journal | url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09749284211005036 | doi=10.1177/09749284211005036 | title=Vietnam in the Indo-Pacific Region: Perception, Position and Perspectives | year=2021 | last1=Thuong | first1=Nguyen Le Thy | last2=Oanh | first2=Nguyen Thi | journal=India Quarterly: A Journal of International Affairs | volume=77 | issue=2 | pages=129–142 | s2cid=235724917 | url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Subdivisions== [[File:Crandall etal 2019 IP Regions.jpg|alt=The figure shows 8 maps of biogeographic regionalizations that were tested using model selection with analysis of molecular variance(AMOVA) by Crandall et al. 2019.|left|thumb|400x400px|Biogeographic regionalizations that were tested using model selection with analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) by Crandall et al. 2019. Colours represent different regions within a scheme.]]

The [[World Wide Fund for Nature|WWF]] and [[The Nature Conservancy|Nature Conservancy]] divide the Indo-Pacific into 3 [[realm]]s (or subrealms), and each of these into 25 marine provinces and 77 ecoregions ([[Marine ecoregion|Marine Ecoregions of the World]]; MEOW) based on data-driven expert opinion.<ref name="Spalding">{{cite journal |last1=Spalding |first1=Mark D.|last2=Fox |first2=Helen E.|last3=Allen |first3=Gerald R.|author-link3=Gerald R. Allen |last4=Davidson |first4=Nick |last5=Ferdaña|first5=Zach A.|last6=Finlayson|first6=Max |last7=Halpern|first7=Benjamin S.|author-link7=Benjamin Halpern|last8=Jorge|first8=Miguel A.|last9=Lombana |first9=Al |last10=Lourie|first10=Sara A.|last11=Martin|first11=Kirsten D.|last12=McManus|first12=Edmund |last13=Molnar|first13=Jennifer |last14=Recchia|first14=Cheri A.|last15=Robertson|first15=James |date=July–August 2007 |title=Marine Ecoregions of the World: A Bioregionalization of Coastal and Shelf Areas |journal=BioScience |volume=57 |issue=7 |pages=573–583 |doi=10.1641/B570707 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2007BiSci..57..573S |s2cid=29150840}}</ref> Other schemes for subdivision of the Indo-Pacific have included: 5 provinces, based on endemism in fishes;<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Briggs|first1=John C.|last2=Bowen|first2=Brian W.|date=2012|title=A realignment of marine biogeographic provinces with particular reference to fish distributions: Marine biogeographic provinces|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.02613.x|journal=Journal of Biogeography|language=en|volume=39|issue=1|pages=12–30|doi=10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.02613.x|s2cid=56455379|url-access=subscription}}</ref> 3 regions split into 10 provinces based on dissimilarity of fish assemblages,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kulbicki|first1=Michel|last2=Parravicini|first2=Valeriano|last3=Bellwood|first3=David R.|last4=Arias-Gonzàlez|first4=Ernesto|last5=Chabanet|first5=Pascale|last6=Floeter|first6=Sergio R.|last7=Friedlander|first7=Alan|last8=McPherson|first8=Jana|last9=Myers|first9=Robert E.|last10=Vigliola|first10=Laurent|last11=Mouillot|first11=David|date=2013-12-30|editor-last=Stergiou|editor-first=Konstantinos I.|title=Global Biogeography of Reef Fishes: A Hierarchical Quantitative Delineation of Regions|journal=PLOS ONE|language=en|volume=8|issue=12|article-number=e81847|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0081847|issn=1932-6203|pmc=3875412|pmid=24386083|bibcode=2013PLoSO...881847K|doi-access=free}}</ref> 11 provinces based on range boundaries in corals,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Keith|first1=S. A.|last2=Baird|first2=A. H.|last3=Hughes|first3=T. P.|last4=Madin|first4=J. S.|last5=Connolly|first5=S. R.|date=2013-07-22|title=Faunal breaks and species composition of Indo-Pacific corals: the role of plate tectonics, environment and habitat distribution|journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences|language=en|volume=280|issue=1763|article-number=20130818|doi=10.1098/rspb.2013.0818|issn=0962-8452|pmc=3774232|pmid=23698011}}</ref> 12 divisions split into 124 ecoregions based on biogeographic clustering from coral distributions<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Veron|first1=John|last2=Stafford-Smith|first2=Mary|last3=DeVantier|first3=Lyndon|last4=Turak|first4=Emre|date=2015-02-18|title=Overview of distribution patterns of zooxanthellate Scleractinia|journal=Frontiers in Marine Science|volume=1|page=81 |doi=10.3389/fmars.2014.00081|issn=2296-7745|doi-access=free|bibcode=2015FrMaS...1...81V }}</ref> and finally 8 realms from distributions of 65,000 marine species.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Costello|first1=Mark J.|last2=Tsai|first2=Peter|last3=Wong|first3=Pui Shan|last4=Cheung|first4=Alan Kwok Lun|last5=Basher|first5=Zeenatul|last6=Chaudhary|first6=Chhaya|date=December 2017|title=Marine biogeographic realms and species endemicity|journal=Nature Communications|language=en|volume=8|issue=1|page=1057|doi=10.1038/s41467-017-01121-2|issn=2041-1723|pmc=5648874|pmid=29051522|bibcode=2017NatCo...8.1057C}}</ref> All but the last of these schemes were tested against one another by an international consortium of marine scientists using genetic data from 56 Indo-Pacific species, with the reasoning that genetic data should reflect the evolutionary processes that structure the Indo-Pacific.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Crandall|first1=Eric D.|last2=Riginos|first2=Cynthia|last3=Bird|first3=Chris E.|last4=Liggins|first4=Libby|last5=Treml|first5=Eric|last6=Beger|first6=Maria|last7=Barber|first7=Paul H.|last8=Connolly|first8=Sean R.|last9=Cowman|first9=Peter F.|last10=DiBattista|first10=Joseph D.|last11=Eble|first11=Jeff A.|date=2019|editor-last=Borregaard|editor-first=Michael|title=The molecular biogeography of the Indo-Pacific: Testing hypotheses with multispecies genetic patterns|journal=Global Ecology and Biogeography|language=en|volume=28|issue=7|pages=943–960|doi=10.1111/geb.12905|s2cid=149934700|issn=1466-822X|doi-access=free|bibcode=2019GloEB..28..943C |hdl=10536/DRO/DU:30121822|hdl-access=free}}</ref> While there was no clear winning scheme, and all schemes were supported by data from at least one species, the genetic data in general favored schemes with few subdivisions, supporting the Indo-Pacific as relatively unstructured biogeographic realm - possibly the world's largest. Below are briefly described the 3 MEOW realms of the Indo-Pacific:

===Central Indo-Pacific=== {{main|Central Indo-Pacific}}

[[File:Coral Triangle and countries participating in the Coral Triangle Initiative.png|thumb|The Coral Triangle and countries participating in the [[Coral Triangle Initiative]]]] The Central Indo-Pacific includes the numerous seas and straits connecting the Indian and Pacific oceans, including the seas surrounding the [[Indonesian archipelago]] (with the exception of [[Sumatra]]'s northwest coast, which is part of the Western Indo-Pacific), the [[South China Sea]], the [[Philippine Sea]], the north coast of [[Australia]], and the seas surrounding [[New Guinea]], western and central [[Micronesia]], [[New Caledonia]], the [[Solomon Islands]], [[Vanuatu]], [[Fiji]], and [[Tonga]]. The Central Indo-Pacific, due in part to its central location at the meeting of two oceans, has the greatest richness and diversity of marine organisms, specifically located within the [[Coral Triangle]], which contains 76% of all known coral species in the world.<ref name=":1" />

===Eastern Indo-Pacific=== {{main|Eastern Indo-Pacific}}

The Eastern Indo-Pacific surrounds the mostly volcanic islands of the central Pacific Ocean, extending from the [[Marshall Islands]] in the west through central and southeastern [[Polynesia]] to [[Hawaii]], to the west coast of [[Chile]]. The World Wide Fund for Nature believe the region ends at Chile's [[Easter Island]] and [[Isla Salas y Gómez]], although it is sometimes extended even further to include Chile's [[Desventuradas Islands]] and [[Juan Fernández Islands]].<ref name="marine">{{cite journal|title=Marine Biodiversity in Juan Fernández and Desventuradas Islands, Chile: Global Endemism Hotspots |publisher=Journals.plos.org |date=2016-01-06 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0145059 |doi-access=free |last1=Friedlander |first1=Alan M. |last2=Ballesteros |first2=Enric |last3=Caselle |first3=Jennifer E. |last4=Gaymer |first4=Carlos F. |last5=Palma |first5=Alvaro T. |last6=Petit |first6=Ignacio |last7=Varas |first7=Eduardo |last8=Muñoz Wilson |first8=Alex |last9=Sala |first9=Enric |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=11 |issue=1 |article-number=e0145059 |pmid=26734732 |pmc=4703205 |bibcode=2016PLoSO..1145059F }}</ref><ref name="east">{{cite journal |last1=Pequeño |first1=Germán |title=Shore Fishes of Easter Island, John E. Randall & Alfredo Cea Egaña |journal=Gayana |date=2011 |volume=75 |issue=2 |pages=201–202 |id={{ProQuest|920291064}} |doi=10.4067/S0717-65382011000200011 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="class">{{cite web |last1=Udvardy |first1=Miklos D.F. |title=A Classification of the Biogeographical Provinces of the World |url=https://fnad.org/Documentos/A%20Classification%20of%20the%20Biogeographical%20Provinces%20of%20the%20World%20Miklos%20D.F.%20Udvardy.pdf |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=7 March 2022 |archive-date=4 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504205134/https://fnad.org/Documentos/A%20Classification%20of%20the%20Biogeographical%20Provinces%20of%20the%20World%20Miklos%20D.F.%20Udvardy.pdf }}</ref><ref name="Spalding"/>

===Western Indo-Pacific=== {{main|Western Indo-Pacific}}

The Western Indo-Pacific covers the western and central portion of the Indian Ocean, including Africa's east coast and the [[Mozambique Channel]], surrounding [[Madagascar]], the [[Seychelles]], the [[Comoros]], the [[Mascarene Islands]], [[Maldives]], and the [[Chagos Archipelago]]; as well as the [[Red Sea]], the [[Gulf of Aden]], the [[Persian Gulf]], the [[Arabian Sea]], the [[Bay of Bengal]], and the [[Andaman Sea]].<ref name="Spalding"/>

==Ecology== Some seashore and coastal plants are found throughout most of the region, including the trees ''[[Pisonia grandis]], [[Calophyllum inophyllum]], [[Heliotropium arboreum]], [[Pandanus tectorius]], [[Cordia subcordata]], [[Guettarda speciosa]]'', and the shrubs ''[[Scaevola taccada]], [[Suriana maritima]]'', and ''[[Pemphis acidula]]''. These plants have adapted to grow on coral sand, and have seeds adapted to crossing salt water, including distribution by birds or which can survive floating in salt water.<ref name = centralpoynesia>{{WWF ecoregion|name=Central Polynesian tropical moist forests|id=oc0102}}</ref>

The trees [[coconut]] (''Coco nucifera''), [[candlenut]] (''Aleurites moluccanus''), and ''[[Morinda citrifolia]]'' originated in the Central Indo-Pacific, and were spread further across the region by human settlers.<ref name = centralpoynesia/>

== Economic region == {{See also|Maritime Silk Road}} The Indo-West Pacific has been a hub of economic activity since ancient times. The entrance of the European colonial powers, such as the [[Dutch East India Company|Dutch]] and [[British East India Company|British East India Companies]] and the Portuguese, and the launch of a [[Transpacific crossing|trans-Pacific]] transport of [[Transpacific slave trade|slaves]], migrants, and goods, created a deeper Indo-Pacific economic integration.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2017-12-30 |title=The 'Indo-Pacific' is really nothing new, just ask the fish |url=https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2126208/indo-pacific-really-nothing-new-just-ask-fish |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en}}</ref>

The "Indo-Pacific" has been an economic idea since its early formulation in [[Weimar Germany]]. According to Hansong Li, the German geographer [[Karl Haushofer]], son of the economist Max Haushofer, believed that [[Capital (economics)|capital]], along with [[urbanisation]] and [[population growth]], are key vectors that determine the 'manometers' of the oceanic region. Haushofer also explained why [[industrialisation]] broke out in Europe rather than the Indo-Pacific by a spatial theory of demography.<ref name="Li">{{cite journal |last=Li |first=Hansong |title=The "Indo-Pacific": Intellectual Origins and International Visions in Global Contexts |journal=Modern Intellectual History |date=2021-06-04 |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=807–833 |doi=10.1017/S1479244321000214 |s2cid=236226422 |doi-access=free}}</ref>{{rp|3–22}}

Australia is the largest country to border both the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean, with the only others being the ASEAN-affiliated countries of Indonesia, [[Malaysia]], [[Singapore]], [[Timor-Leste]] and [[Thailand]]. Australia has historically had strong economic and political ties to neighboring South Pacific countries affiliated with the [[Pacific Islands Forum]] (which it co-founded in 1971), in addition to having over 80% of its population living within just 50 kilometers of the east coast. This has led to it traditionally being viewed as a Pacific country rather than an Indian Ocean-oriented country.<ref name="book">{{cite book |last1=United States. Central Intelligence Agency |title=Indian Ocean Atlas |date=1976 |publisher=The Agency |url=https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Indian_Ocean_Atlas/sIIIshRA9jcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22indian+ocean+countries%22+%22israel%22+%22south+africa%22+%22australia%22&pg=PP28&printsec=frontcover |access-date=20 April 2025 |chapter=Trade Patterns}}</ref> In the 1970s and 1980s, Australia became one of the primary architects of [[Pacific Rim]] regionalism/Asia-Pacific regionalism, with Australia and Japan collaborating on the founding of regional institutions such as [[Pacific Basin Economic Council]] (PBEC), the Pacific Trade and Development (PAFTAD) forum and the [[Pacific Economic Cooperation Council]] (PECC), before eventually co-founding [[Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation]] (APEC) in 1989.<ref>Terada, T. (1999). ''The genesis of APEC: Australian-Japan political initiatives''. [[Australian National University]].</ref><ref>{{Cite web | title=From the Colombo Plan to Asia–Pacific Cooperation: Transfer of Hegemony and Japanese Plans for “Open Regionalism” {{!}} Springer Nature Link | url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-95-1076-4_6 | access-date=2026-02-21 | website=link.springer.com}}</ref> These organizations did not include South Asian countries only facing the Indian Ocean, such as India. Australia's secondary focus on the Indian Ocean has been compared to [[Israel]], as most of Israel's population lives on the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] coast, with only a small section of the country being connected to the Indian Ocean via the [[Gulf of Aqaba]]/[[Red Sea]].<ref name="book"/> In 1970, the name "Indian Pacific" was chosen for an [[Indian Pacific|Australian train service]] connecting the Pacific city of [[Sydney]] to [[Perth]], which is Australia's only major Indian Ocean coast city.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.journeybeyondrail.com.au/indian-pacific/about-indian-pacific/|title=About the Indian Pacific}}</ref> In 1986, the name "Indian Pacific" was also chosen as the name for the holding company controlling the [[West Coast Eagles]], an [[Australian rules football]] club based in Perth. It competes in the [[Australian Football League]], primarily based on the country's east coast. The club is still legally known as Indian Pacific Limited, despite trading under West Coast Eagles Football Club.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-15/west-coast-eagles-analysis/10900458|title=From a hell of an existence and near collapse to financial powerhouse|date=14 March 2019|via=www.abc.net.au}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abr.business.gov.au/ABN/View/31009178894|title=Current details for ABN 31 009 178 894 | ABN Lookup}}</ref>

In the 21st century, with the rising involvement of the United States in the new growth areas of Asia, the idea of the Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor (IPEC) emerged during the U.S.–India Strategic Dialogue of 2013. The Secretary of State [[John Kerry]] referred to the potential of the Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor in transforming the prospects for development and investments as well as for trade and transit between the economies of South and Southeast Asia Indo-Pacific economic corridor.<ref>{{cite news|last=Sundararaman |first=Shankari|date=10 February 2017 |url=http://www.orfonline.org/research/indo-pacific-economic-corridor-a-vision-in-progress/|title=Indo-Pacific economic corridor: A vision in progress |newspaper=Orf |publisher=[[Observer Research Foundation]]|access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref>

K. Yhome in his scholarly study has mapped out the potential for various emerging trans-regional corridors in Asia along with the challenges of linking IPEC into the larger web of regional economic integration initiatives taking shape in the region in 2017.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Yhome|editor-first1=K.|editor-last2=Chaturvedy|editor-first2=Rajeev Ranjan|year=2017|url=http://cf.orfonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/GP-ORF-Transregional-Corridors.pdf|title=Emerging Trans-Regional Corridors: South and Southeast Asia|publisher=Observer Research Foundation|isbn=978-81-86818-26-8|archive-date=15 June 2017|access-date=27 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170615045001/http://cf.orfonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/GP-ORF-Transregional-Corridors.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On 23 May 2022, the president of the United States, Joe Biden, launched the [[Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity]] (IPEF). This agreement includes a dozen of initial partners including: Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Together, all the countries included within the framework represent 40% of the world GDP. The IPEF contains four pillars: #Connected Economy: through [[digital economy]] rules, [[data localization]], AI, [[information privacy|privacy]]. #Resilient Economy: through better [[supply chain]] commitments that better anticipate and prevent [[Supply chain resilience|disruptions in supply chains]]. #Clean Economy: with commitments to [[sustainable energy]], [[decarbonization]], and [[green infrastructure]]. #Fair Economy: with recommendation to strengthen efforts to crack down on corruption, effective tax implementation, anti-[[money laundering]], and anti-bribery regimes.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-23 |title=FACT SHEET: In Asia, President Biden and a Dozen Indo-Pacific Partners Launch the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity |url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/05/23/fact-sheet-in-asia-president-biden-and-a-dozen-indo-pacific-partners-launch-the-indo-pacific-economic-framework-for-prosperity/ |access-date=2022-05-23 |website=The White House |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Geopolitical context ==

=== Origins === Historical precedent for the Indo-Pacific as a politically contested space comes from ancient times; in the European colonial era, commercial interests led to conquest by powers such as the Dutch and British East India Companies throughout the region.<ref name=":2" />

The German geopolitician [[Karl Haushofer]] first used "Indo-Pacific" in the 1920s in multiple works on [[geography]] and [[geopolitics]]: ''Geopolitics of the Pacific Ocean'' (1924), ''Building Blocks of Geopolitics'' (1928), ''Geopolitics of Pan-Ideas'' (1931), and ''German Cultural Politics in the Indo-Pacific Space'' (1939). Haushofer legitimated the integration of the two oceans by evidence in [[marine biology]], [[oceanography]], [[ethnography]], and [[historical philology]]. He envisioned an "Indo-Pacific" comprising anticolonial forces in India and China, as Germany's ally against the maritime domination of Britain, the United States, and Western Europe.<ref name="Li" />

=== Contemporary use === {{See also|Free and Open Indo-Pacific}} The Japanese Prime Minister [[Shinzō Abe]] referred to the "confluence" of the Indian and Pacific Oceans in his speech to the [[Indian Parliament]] in August 2007 as "the dynamic coupling as seas of freedom and of prosperity" in the "broader Asia".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/pmv0708/speech-2.html|title="Confluence of the Two Seas" Speech by H.E.Mr. Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan at the Parliament of the Republic of India|website=mofa.go.jp|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan|date=22 August 2007|access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.orfonline.org/initiatives/maritime-studies/|title=Maritime Policy Archives |website=orfonline.org|publisher=Observer Research Foundation |access-date=2017-12-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206210900/http://www.orfonline.org/initiatives/maritime-studies/|archive-date=2017-12-06}}{{Full citation needed|date=December 2021}}</ref> The focus of Japanese Prime Minister's August 2007 speech in the Indian Parliament was on security of sea lanes linking the two oceans. In the academic discourse relating to such maritime security issue in the Indo-Pacific, the first articulation was carried by a paper published in January 2007 by the [[Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses|Institute of Defense Studies and Analyses]] (IDSA), New Delhi. It was a result of consultations between IDSA and the [[Japan Institute of International Affairs]] (JIIA) held in New Delhi in October 2006.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Khurana |first=Gurpreet S.|date=January–February 2007 |title=Security of Sea Lines: Prospects for India–Japan Cooperation |journal=Strategic Analysis |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=139–153 |doi=10.1080/09700160701355485 |s2cid=153632833}}</ref> From 2010 onwards, the term Indo-Pacific acquired salience within the Indian government and has since been used often by India's apex political leadership.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Scott |first=David |date=July–October 2012 |title=India and the Allure of the 'Indo-Pacific' |journal=International Studies |volume=49 |issue=3–4 |pages=165–188 |doi=10.1177/0020881714534038 |s2cid=153576791}}</ref> From about 2011 onwards, the term has been used frequently by strategic analysts and high-level government/military leadership in Australia, Japan and the United States to denote said region. However, a formal/official documented articulation of the term first appeared in Australia's Defence White Paper, 2013.<ref>{{cite report|url=http://defence.gov.au/whitepaper2013/docs/wp_2013_web.pdf |title=Defence White Paper 2013 |year=2013 |publisher=Department of Defence, Australian Government |isbn=978-0-9874958-0-8|access-date=9 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512150121/http://defence.gov.au/whitepaper2013/docs/wp_2013_web.pdf|archive-date=12 May 2013}}</ref> It is also "symbiotically linked"<ref name="orf">{{cite news | url=https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/indias-understanding-of-the-quad-indo-pacific-distinct-narrative-or-a-flawed-one-49068/ | title=India's understanding of the Quad & Indo-Pacific: Distinct narrative or a flawed one? | newspaper=Orf }}</ref> with the [[Quadrilateral Security Dialogue]]—an informal grouping of like-minded democracies in the region, comprising Australia, India, Japan, and the United States.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Nicholas Ross |last2=Bacon |first2=Paul |title=The Indo-Pacific as a macrosecuritized constellation: revising regional security Complex Theory for the age of the Indo-Pacific |journal=The Pacific Review |date=2025 |volume=0 |pages=1–29 |doi=10.1080/09512748.2025.2546013 |issn=0951-2748}}</ref>

Since 2011, the term "Indo-Pacific" is being used increasingly in geopolitical discourse.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Amane|first=Yamazaki |date=28 February 2020 |url=https://jamestown.org/program/the-prcs-cautious-stance-on-the-u-s-indo-pacific-strategy/|title=The PRC's Cautious Stance on the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy|journal=China Brief |volume=20 |issue=4 |publisher=[[Jamestown Foundation]]|access-date=2020-03-07}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Medcalf|first=Rory|year=2020|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iA_KygEACAAJ|title=Contest for the Indo-Pacific: Why China Won't Map the Future|publisher=Black Incorporated|isbn=978-1-76064-157-3|oclc=1127546396}}</ref>

In 2013, Indonesian Foreign Minister [[Marty Natalegawa]] proposed an "Indo-Pacific Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation" to restore trust, manage unresolved territory disputes, and help countries deal with change in the region.<ref>{{cite news |last=Georgieff |first=Jack |date=17 May 2013 |title=An Indo-Pacific Treaty: An Idea Whose Time Has Come? |url=https://thediplomat.com/2013/05/an-indo-pacific-treaty-an-idea-whose-time-has-come/ |work=The Diplomat |access-date=7 April 2022}}</ref> In 2013, U.S. officials have begun using the term "Indo-Asia Pacific".<ref>{{cite press release|last=Miles |first=Donna |date=8 February 2013 |url=http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=119243 |title=Locklear Calls for Indo-Asia-Pacific Cooperation|publisher=United States Department of State |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130210165134/http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=119243|archive-date=10 February 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The term's profile was raised when it found mention in the joint statement issued by the Indian Prime Minister [[Narendra Modi]] and United States President [[Donald Trump]] after the former's state visit to the [[White House]] on 26 June 2017. "As responsible stewards in the Indo-Pacific region, President Trump and Prime Minister Modi agreed that a close partnership between the United States and India is central to peace and stability in the region. In marking 70 years of diplomatic relations between India and the United States, the leaders resolved to expand and deepen the strategic partnership between the countries and advance common objectives. Above all, these objectives include combatting terrorist threats, promoting stability across the Indo-Pacific region, increasing free and fair trade, and strengthening energy linkages".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/28560/United_States_and_India_Prosperity_Through_Partnership|title=Joint Statement – United States and India: Prosperity Through Partnership |publisher=Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India|date=27 June 2017|access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref> However, President Trump's November 2017 articulation on Indo-Pacific was widely seen as something that would usher in a new (US–China) Cold War.<ref>{{cite news|last=Khurana |first=Gurpreet S. |date=14 November 2017 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/theworldpost/wp/2017/11/14/trump-asia-trip/ |url-access=subscription |title=Opinion: Trump's new Cold War alliance in Asia is dangerous |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref> This led to the Indian Prime Minister spelling out the Indian vision of Indo-Pacific as an enabler for "a common pursuit of progress and prosperity... not directed against any country... (albeit based on) our principled commitment to rule of law".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mea.gov.in/Speeches-Statements.htm?dtl/29943/Prime+Ministers+Keynote+Address+at+Shangri+La+Dialogue+June+01+2018 |title=Prime Minister's Keynote Address at Shangri La Dialogue |publisher=Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India |date=1 June 2018|access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref> According to Dr. Cenk Tamer, the U.S. seeks to create an "anti-China axis" in the Asia-Pacific region through the conceptualization of the Indo-Pacific because it sees India as a key part in containing China. This was reiterated by [[President Biden]], who declared a "secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific."<ref name="ankara">{{cite web | url=https://www.ankasam.org/terminology-of-the-geopolitical-power-struggle-asia-pacific-or-indo-pacific/?lang=en | title=Terminology of the Geopolitical Power Struggle: "Asia-Pacific" or "Indo-Pacific"? | date=11 March 2021 |first1=Cenk |last1=Tamer |website=ANKASAM |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221127030848/https://www.ankasam.org/terminology-of-the-geopolitical-power-struggle-asia-pacific-or-indo-pacific/?lang=en |archive-date= 27 November 2022 }}</ref> Tamer calls the Indo-Pacific a concept that started to gain ground in international relations as a geopolitical challenge by the U.S. toward China.<ref name="ankara"/>

In 2019, the [[United States Department of State]] published a document formalizing the concept of a "[[Free and Open Indo-Pacific]]", to be sustained among members of "the Quad", a partnership of four Indo-Pacific democracies led by the United States, in concert with [[Australia]], India, and Japan.<ref>{{cite report|url=https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Free-and-Open-Indo-Pacific-4Nov2019.pdf|title=A Free and Open Indo-Pacific: Advancing a Shared Vision|date=4 November 2019|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=United States Department of State|access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref> "Indo-Pacific" has also featured prominently in top-level U.S. strategic documents such as the 2017 [[National Security Strategy (United States)|National Security Strategy]],<ref>{{cite report|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/NSS-Final-12-18-2017-0905.pdf|title=National Security Strategy of the United States of America|date=December 2017|location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=White House|access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref> the 2018 [[Nuclear Posture Review]],<ref>{{cite report|url=https://media.defense.gov/2018/Feb/02/2001872886/-1/-1/1/2018-NUCLEAR-POSTURE-REVIEW-FINAL-REPORT.PDF|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202200026/https://media.defense.gov/2018/Feb/02/2001872886/-1/-1/1/2018-NUCLEAR-POSTURE-REVIEW-FINAL-REPORT.PDF|archive-date=2 February 2018|title=Nuclear Posture Review|date=February 2018|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=Office of the Secretary of Defense|access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref> and the 2018 [[National Defense Strategy (United States)|National Defense Strategy]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://dod.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/2018-National-Defense-Strategy-Summary.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180824045508/https://dod.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/2018-National-Defense-Strategy-Summary.pdf|archive-date=24 August 2018|title=Summary of the 2018 National Defense Strategy of the United States of America: Sharpening the American Military's Competitive Edge|year=2018|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=United States Department of Defense|access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref> According to Felix Heiduk and Gudrun Wacker at the [[German Institute for International and Security Affairs]], the concept of a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" is aimed at containing China and the "Indo-Pacific" is "primarily understood as a U.S.-led containment strategy directed against China" in Beijing.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Heiduk |first1=Felix |last2=Wacker |first2=Gudrun |publisher=Stiftung Wissenschaft Und Politik |date=2020 |title=From Asia-Pacific to Indo-Pacific: significance, implementation and challenges |url=https://www.swp-berlin.org/en/publication/from-asia-pacific-to-indo-pacific/ |journal=SWP Research Paper |language=en |doi=10.18449/2020RP09 |access-date=19 November 2022 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Australian scholar Rory Medcalf has argued that "The Indo-Pacific...does not exclude or contain China, though it does dilute China's influence."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Medcalf |first=Rory |date=July 2019 |title=Indo-Pacific Visions: Giving Solidarity a Chance |url=https://www.nbr.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/publications/ap14-3-medcalf-july2019.pdf |journal=Asia Policy |volume=14 |issue=3 |page=80}}</ref> It has been argued that the concept of the Indo-Pacific may lead to a change in popular "mental maps" of how the world is understood in strategic terms.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Brewster|first=David |year=2014 |url=https://www.academia.edu/7697999 |via=Academia.edu |s2cid-access=free |title=Dividing Lines: Evolving Mental Maps of the Bay of Bengal |journal=Asian Security |volume=10|issue=2 |pages=151–167 |doi=10.1080/14799855.2014.914499 |hdl=1885/13057|hdl-access=free |s2cid=154762903}}</ref>

The term was also used in 2019 by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in its statement ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP),<ref name="outlook">{{Cite web |date=June 23, 2019 |title=ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific |url=https://asean.org/speechandstatement/asean-outlook-on-the-indo-pacific/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240228184914/https://asean.org/speechandstatement/asean-outlook-on-the-indo-pacific/ |archive-date=28 February 2024 |website=ASEAN}}</ref> though the bloc also still uses the longstanding term "Asia-Pacific" which is preferred by China and Russia.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ghosh |first=Sanchari |date=2023-05-03 |title=Opinion - With the Rise of the 'Indo-Pacific', Has the 'Asia-Pacific' Faded Away? |url=https://www.e-ir.info/2023/05/03/opinion-with-the-rise-of-the-indo-pacific-has-the-asia-pacific-faded-away/ |website=E-International Relations |language=en-US |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231231194645/https://www.e-ir.info/2023/05/03/opinion-with-the-rise-of-the-indo-pacific-has-the-asia-pacific-faded-away/ |archive-date= 31 December 2023 }}</ref> Its use by ASEAN is arguably an attempt by the bloc at balance-of-power hedging<ref>{{Cite journal |date=19 November 2019 |first1=Rizal |last1=Sukma |title=Indonesia, ASEAN and shaping the Indo-Pacific idea |url=https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2019/11/19/indonesia-asean-and-shaping-the-indo-pacific-idea/ |journal=East Asia Forum |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=11–12 |language=en-AU |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230812113616/http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2019/11/19/indonesia-asean-and-shaping-the-indo-pacific-idea/ |archive-date= 12 August 2023 }}</ref> between competing visions for the region between the US and China. However, it is also clear that ASEAN does not share the exact same understanding of the term as the US,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kamaruddin |first=Nurliana |date=5 Aug 2019 |title=ASEAN's strategic engagement in the unwieldy Indo-Pacific |url=https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/asean-s-strategic-engagement-unwieldy-indo-pacific |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609045508/https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/asean-s-strategic-engagement-unwieldy-indo-pacific |archive-date=9 June 2023 |website=The Interpreter |publisher=Lowy Institute}}</ref> and its AOIP statement specifically states<ref name="outlook"/> that it envisions continuing to play a "central and strategic role" in the region.

In order to reduce its dependence on the Indo-Pacific, China has begun pivoting to the "Arcto-Pacific", aiming to use [[Arctic shipping routes|northern routes]] that are opening up due to climate change.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Constructing the Arcto-Pacific |url=https://eng.globalaffairs.ru/articles/constructing-arcto-pacific/ |access-date=2025-02-19 |website=[[Russia in Global Affairs]] |language=en}}</ref>

Several state actors have published Indo-Pacific strategies, including the [[European Union]] (EU) in September 2021.<ref>{{Cite web| title=The EU Strategy on Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific: A Meaningful Regional Complement? | url=https://www.kas.de/documents/288143/16920728/Panorama+2021_01+Kliem.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240812163305/https://www.kas.de/documents/288143/16920728/Panorama+2021_01+Kliem.pdf | archive-date=2024-08-12}}</ref> In February 2022, the U.S. government released its official Indo-Pacific strategy,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360997330_The_US_Indo-Pacific_Strategy_2022_An_Analysis|title=(PDF) The US Indo-Pacific Strategy 2022 An Analysis|website=ResearchGate}}</ref> while in November of that year, the Canadian government released its own Indo-Pacific strategy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Evans Chen |first=Liang-Chih |title=Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy: Origins, Implications, and Impact |url=https://www.pf.org.tw/wSite/public/Attachment/003/f1679381552833.pdf |access-date=10 March 2026 |website=The Prospect Foundation}}</ref> Canada have been described as walking a "diplomatic tightrope" in the Indo-Pacific, since they have attempted to align themselves with both China and U.S. allies like Japan.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.canadianaffairs.news/2026/02/09/canadas-diplomatic-tightrope-act-in-asia/|title=Canada’s diplomatic tightrope act in Asia|first=Sam|last=Forster|date=9 February 2026}}</ref>

Pacific Island country leaders have prioritized terms such as "Blue Pacific" and "Blue Continent" over Indo-Pacific, which is seen as potentially marginalizing them.<ref name="spring">{{Cite book |last=Waqavakatoga |first=William |url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-88984-4_4 |title=The Politics of Global Ocean Regions |last2=Wallis |first2=Joanne |date=2025-07-09 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2025 |editor-last=Bueger |editor-first=C. |series=Palgrave Studies in Maritime Politics and Security |location=Cham |pages=99-122 |chapter=The Blue Pacific Ocean Region |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-88984-4_4 |editor-last2=Mendenhall |editor-first2=E. |editor-last3=Strating |editor-first3=R.}}</ref><ref>Peters, Chiara (2025). "[https://cris.unu.edu/sites/cris.unu.edu/files/WP25.06_Peters.pdf The Question of Ownership in Pacific Regionalism]." United Nations University</ref> The "Blue Pacific" identity was officially endorsed at the 48th Pacific Islands Forum meeting in [[Apia]], [[Samoa]], in September 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Timeline of Major Forum Events |url=https://forumsec.org/timeline-major-forum-events |website=Pacific Islands Forum}}</ref> By 2019, the language among leaders shifted toward "Blue Pacific Continent".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019 |title=Fiftieth Pacific Islands Forum: Funafuti, Tuvalu |url=https://forumsec.org/sites/default/files/2024-03/2019-Forum%20Communique-Funafuti-Tuvalu-13-16%20Aug.pdf |website=Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat}}</ref> Australia and [[New Zealand]], the two largest countries in the PIF, have engaged with the Blue Pacific Continent concept, while still using Indo-Pacific frameworks for broader regional contexts beyond the South Pacific area.<ref name="spring"/> Non-PIF members such as Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States have also engaged with the concept.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-88984-4_4|title=The Politics of Global Ocean Regions|first1=William|last1=Waqavakatoga|first2=Joanne|last2=Wallis|editor-first1=Christian|editor-last1=Bueger|editor-first2=Elizabeth|editor-last2=Mendenhall|editor-first3=Rebecca|editor-last3=Strating|date=10 February 2025|publisher=Springer Nature Switzerland|pages=99–122|via=Springer Link|doi=10.1007/978-3-031-88984-4_4}}</ref> German political scientist [[Patrick Köllner]] wrote in 2021 that New Zealand only views itself as being a regional power in the South Pacific, while Australia views itself as both a regional power in the South Pacific and a [[middle power]] in the Indo-Pacific.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-0282-7_6|title=New Zealand's Geopolitics and the US-China Competition|first=Reuben|last=Steff|editor-first=Reuben|editor-last=Steff|date=12 February 2024|publisher=Springer Nature|pages=185–257|via=Springer Link|doi=10.1007/978-981-96-0282-7_6}}</ref> In 2023. [[Fiji]]’s Prime Minister, [[Sitiveni Rabuka]], proposed a declaration titled "Ocean of Peace", and it was endorsed at the PIF Leaders Meeting at the [[Solomon Islands]] in September 2025.<ref>{{cite web|date=11 September 2025 |title=Ocean of Peace declaration endorsed at Pacific Leaders meeting in Honiara |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.gov.fj/ocean-of-peace-declaration-endorsed-at-pacific-leaders-meeting-in-honiara/ |website=Ministry Of Foreign Affairs, Fiji |access-date=18 November 2025 }}</ref> At a Japan-Fiji summit meeting and signing ceremony in November 2025, the "Ocean of Peace" declaration was regarded to share the same principles as Japan's "Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)" such as respect for sovereignty and maintaining a rules-based international order, and the two countries affirmed their cooperation toward the realization of a FOIP.<ref>{{cite web |date=13 November 2025 |author= |title=Japan-Fiji Summit Meeting and Signing Ceremony |url=https://www.mofa.go.jp/a_o/ocn/fj/pageite_000001_01371.html |website=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan)|MOFA, Japan]] |access-date=18 November 2025 }}</ref>

The Indo-Pacific concept is yet not widely acknowledged amongst the governments of [[Latin America]]n countries or [[Middle East]]ern countries, countries which themselves are included under maximalist frameworks.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003545750-19/latin-america-juan-pablo-toro|title=Latin America | 19 | The Forgotten Coast of the Indo-Pacific? | Juan P}}</ref> As of 2023, no Middle Eastern country in the [[Persian Gulf|Gulf]] region had issued any official Indo-Pacific policy, with few leaders using the concept in public remarks.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19480881.2023.2261206|title=Gulf states and the Indo-Pacific: agents or objects of geopolitical competition?|first1=Jonathan|last1=Fulton|first2=Li-Chen|last2=Sim|first3=Jean-Loup|last3=Samaan|date=2 January 2023|journal=Journal of the Indian Ocean Region|volume=19|issue=1|pages=1–5|doi=10.1080/19480881.2023.2261206}}</ref> Much of [[Chile]]'s Indo-Pacific strategy is expressed through the South Pacific Defense Ministers' Meeting (SPDMM), which it annually holds with officials from other countries bordering the South Pacific, including Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, [[Papua New Guinea]], [[Tonga]] and [[France]] (who are considered a South Pacific country due to their various South Pacific territories).<ref>{{Cite web | title=Travel to Chile for the South Pacific Defence Ministers' Meeting {{!}} Defence Ministers | url=https://www.minister.defence.gov.au/media-releases/2025-10-22/travel-chile-south-pacific-defence-ministers-meeting | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251024000617/https://www.minister.defence.gov.au/media-releases/2025-10-22/travel-chile-south-pacific-defence-ministers-meeting | access-date=2026-02-21 | archive-date=2025-10-24}}</ref>

=== Criticism === The [[Australian Citizens Party]], a minor party associated with the US-led [[LaRouche movement|Rouche movement]], criticises the "Indo-Pacific" vision as a reenactment of Nazi strategy, given the concept's link to Karl Haushofer.<ref>{{cite web |last=Bardon |first=Richard |title=The Nazi roots of the 'Indo-Pacific strategy' |date=20 January 2021 |url=https://citizensparty.org.au/nazi-roots-indo-pacific-strategy |website=citizensparty.org.au |publisher=[[Australian Citizens Party]] |access-date=20 June 2021}}</ref>

Former Prime Minister of Australia [[Paul Keating]], in a televised address at the [[National Press Club (Australia)|National Press Club]], criticised the notion of the "Indo-Pacific" as a construct of the United States in its diplomatic war with China:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://workersbushtelegraph.com.au/2021/11/14/keating-no-war-with-china/ |title=Australia's long march into Asia |publisher=Workers BushTelegraph |date=2021-11-14 |access-date=2022-03-16}}</ref>

{{blockquote|The United States says, well, that's all very interesting. But look, if you behave yourself, you Chinese. You can be a stakeholder in our system. And look, you wouldn't have to be Xi Jinping or anybody, to take the view of your Chinese Nationalist say, "Well, hang on, let me get this right. We are already one and a quarter times bigger than you, will soon be twice as big as you, and we may be two and a half times as big as you. But we can be a stakeholder in your system, is that it?" I mean, it'd make a cat laugh.}}

==== Definitional ambiguity ==== Others have criticized the term for being overly broad, since under a maximalist definition, it encompasses every country with a Pacific or Indian Ocean coastline (including those in East Africa and the Western Americas) which accounts for 74 of all 194 independent countries, 65% of earth's total surface and a population of nearly 6 billion (three quarters of earth's total population).<ref name="geo">{{Cite web|url=https://geoconfluences.ens-lyon.fr/programmes/dnl/dnl-hg-anglais/indopacific-space-geopolitics|title=The Indopacific Space, a Geopolitical Concept with Varying Geometry in a Field of Competing Powers|date=3 March 2024|website=Géoconfluences}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://theconversation.com/the-indo-pacific-is-an-idea-more-than-a-region-and-its-pushing-politics-in-a-pessimistic-and-paranoid-direction-243130|title=The Indo-Pacific is an idea more than a region – and it’s pushing politics in a ‘pessimistic and paranoid’ direction|first1=Nicholas Ross|last1=Smith|first2=Paul M.|last2=Bacon|date=7 November 2024|website=The Conversation}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09512748.2025.2546013|title=The Indo-Pacific as a macrosecuritized constellation: revising Regional Security Complex Theory for the age of the Indo-Pacific|first1=Nicholas Ross|last1=Smith|first2=Paul|last2=Bacon|date=11 August 2025|journal=The Pacific Review|pages=1–29|via=CrossRef|doi=10.1080/09512748.2025.2546013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3303737/how-trump-may-inadvertently-calm-waters-indo-pacific|title=Opinion | US treatment of Indo-Pacific allies could de-escalate ties with China|date=28 March 2025|website=South China Morning Post}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.the-american-interest.com/2013/10/10/the-indo-pacific-whats-in-a-name/|title=The Indo-Pacific: What’s in a Name?|date=10 October 2013}}</ref> The maximalist definition is used by Indian Prime Minister Modi, who in 2018 defined the Indo-Pacific as encompassing any country with a Pacific or Indian Ocean coastline, including those in the Middle East, who are often treated as a separate geopolitical zone.<ref name="or"/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rossow |first=Richard M. |date=2018-06-04 |title=Modi at Shangri-La: Covering the Waterfront While Pulling Punches |url=https://www.csis.org/analysis/modi-shangri-la-covering-waterfront-while-pulling-punches |website=Center for Strategic and International Studies}}</ref> On the other hand, the governments of the United States and Australia have defined anything west of [[Pakistan]] as not being part of the Indo-Pacific.<ref name="or"/> They also define the United States as being the only country in the Americas belonging to the Indo-Pacific regional framework.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Haruko |first=Wada |date=2020-03-16 |title=The "Indo-Pacific" Concept: Geographical Adjustments and their Implications |url=https://www.rsis.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/WP326.pdf |journal=RSIS Working Paper |article-number=326}}</ref> Some wider definitions which include East Africa and the Middle East still do not include any of the countries of the Western Americas, instead ending the region at the Pacific Islands.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Otto |first=Lisa |last2=Moeng |first2=Timothy |date=2025 |title=Overlooked and forgotten: seeking a place for Africa in the Indo-Pacific |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19480881.2025.2579401 |journal=Journal of the Indian Ocean Region |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=196-213 |doi=10.1080/19480881.2025.2579401}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/rethinking-indo-pacific-single-ocean-system|title=Rethinking the Indo-Pacific as a single ocean system|website=The Interpreter|date=2025-12-03|last=Ford|first=Alana|publisher=The Lowy Institute}}</ref> The French government's official definition includes all their Pacific and Indian Ocean territories, ranging from the archipelago of [[Mayotte]], which is close to the coast of East Africa, to the Pacific atoll of [[Clipperton Island]], which is 1,100 kilometers from Mexico.<ref name="fr">{{Cite web |date=2025-07-18 |title=France’s Indo-Pacific strategy |url=https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/france_s_indo-pacific_strategy_2025_cle04bb17.pdf |website=Government of France}}</ref> Their definition encompasses mainland East Africa but not the mainland Western Americas.<ref name="fr"/> Their definition also does not include Russia.<ref name="fr"/><ref name="pacificforum">{{Cite web|url=https://pacforum.org/publications/7545/|title=France as an “enhancer of sovereignty” in the Pacific Islands|website=Pacific Forum|last=Bondaz|first=Antoine}}</ref> The Canadian government's official definition defines the Indo-Pacific as ranging from South Asia to the Pacific Islands, and encompasses 40 countries, excluding all countries from East Africa, the Middle East and the Western Americas, as well as Russia.<ref name="can">{{Cite web |date=2024-09-03 |title=Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy |url=https://www.international.gc.ca/transparency-transparence/indo-pacific-indo-pacifique/index.aspx?lang=eng |website=Government of Canada}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hasmath |first=Reza |date=2025-01-29 |title=Canadian Views on the Indo-Pacific Region 2024 |url=https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5065384 |website=SSRN |publisher=Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada}}</ref>

===Geopolitical inclusions=== The following political entities are included in the widest geopolitical definition of the Indo-Pacific, which interprets the space to include all areas bordering the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean, or their marginal seas, bays, gulfs and straits:<ref name="geo"/>

====Africa==== {{col-begin}} | width="50%" align="left" valign="top" style="border:0"| *{{flag|Comoros}} (connected to Indian Ocean) *{{flag|Djibouti}} (connected to Indian Ocean) *{{flag|Egypt}} (connected to Indian Ocean) *{{flag|Eritrea}} (connected to Indian Ocean) *{{flag|Kenya}} (connected to Indian Ocean) *{{flag|Madagascar}} (connected to Indian Ocean) | width="50%" align="left" valign="top" style="border:0"| *{{flag|Mayotte}} (connected to Indian Ocean) *{{flag|Mozambique}} (connected to Indian Ocean) *{{flag|Somalia}} (connected to Indian Ocean) *{{flag|Somaliland}} (connected to Indian Ocean) *{{flag|South Africa}} (connected to Indian Ocean) *{{flag|Sudan}} (connected to Indian Ocean) *{{flag|Tanzania}} (connected to Indian Ocean) {{col-end}}

====Middle East==== {{col-begin}} | width="50%" align="left" valign="top" style="border:0"| *{{flag|Bahrain}} (connected to Indian Ocean) *{{flag|Iran}} (connected to Indian Ocean) *{{flag|Iraq}} (connected to Indian Ocean) *{{flag|Israel}} (connected to Indian Ocean) *{{flag|Jordan}} (connected to Indian Ocean) *{{flag|Kuwait}} (connected to Indian Ocean) | width="50%" align="left" valign="top" style="border:0"| *{{flag|Oman}} (connected to Indian Ocean) *{{flag|Qatar}} (connected to Indian Ocean) *{{flag|Saudi Arabia}} (connected to Indian Ocean) *{{flag|United Arab Emirates}} (connected to Indian Ocean) *{{flag|Yemen}} (connected to Indian Ocean) {{col-end}}

====Indian Ocean==== {{col-begin}} | width="50%" align="left" valign="top" style="border:0"| *{{flag|British Indian Ocean Territory}} *{{flag|Christmas Island}} *{{flag|Cocos (Keeling) Islands}} *{{flag|French Southern and Antarctic Lands}} | width="50%" align="left" valign="top" style="border:0"| *{{flag|Heard Island and McDonald Islands}} *{{flag|Maldives}} *{{flag|Mauritius}} *{{flag|Reunion}} *{{flag|Seychelles}} {{col-end}}

====Asia==== {{col-begin}} | width="50%" align="left" valign="top" style="border:0"| *{{flag|Bangladesh}} (connected to Indian Ocean) *{{flag|Brunei}} (connected to Pacific Ocean) *{{flag|Cambodia}} (connected to Pacific Ocean) *{{flag|China}} (connected to Pacific Ocean) *{{flag|Hong Kong}} (connected to Pacific Ocean) *{{flag|India}} (connected to Indian Ocean) *{{flag|Indonesia}} (connected to Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean) *{{flag|Japan}} (connected to Pacific Ocean) *{{flag|Macau}} (connected to Pacific Ocean) *{{flag|Malaysia}} (connected to Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean) | width="50%" align="left" valign="top" style="border:0"| *{{flag|Myanmar}} (connected to Indian Ocean) *{{flag|North Korea}} (connected to Pacific Ocean) *{{flag|Pakistan}} (connected to Indian Ocean) *{{flag|Philippines}} (connected to Pacific Ocean) *{{flag|Russia}} (connected to Pacific Ocean) *{{flag|Singapore}} (connected to Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean) *{{flag|Sri Lanka}} (connected to Indian Ocean) *{{flag|South Korea}} (connected to Pacific Ocean) *{{flag|Taiwan}} (connected to Pacific Ocean) *{{flag|Thailand}} (connected to Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean) *{{flag|Timor-Leste}} (connected to Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean) *{{flag|Vietnam}} (connected to Pacific Ocean) {{col-end}}

====Pacific Ocean/Oceania==== {{col-begin}} | width="50%" align="left" valign="top" style="border:0"| *{{flag|American Samoa}} *{{flag|Australia}} (connected to Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean) *{{flag|Baker Island}} *{{flag|Bougainville}} *{{flag|Clipperton Island}} *{{flag|Cook Islands}} *{{flag|Easter Island}} *{{flag|Fiji}} *{{flag|French Polynesia}} *{{flag|Galápagos Province|name=Galápagos Islands}} *{{flag|Guam}} *{{flag|Hawaii}} *{{flag|Howland Island}} *{{flag|Jarvis Island}} *{{flag|Juan Fernández Islands}} *{{flag|Kiribati}} *{{flag|Marshall Islands}} *{{flag|Micronesia}} *{{flag|Midway Atoll}} *{{flag|Nauru}} *{{flag|New Caledonia}} | width="50%" align="left" valign="top" style="border:0"| *{{flag|New Zealand}} *{{flag|Niue}} *{{flag|Norfolk Island}} *{{flag|Northern Mariana Islands}} *{{flag|Volcano Islands|name=Ogasawara Islands}} *{{flag|Palau}} *{{flag|Palmyra Atoll}} *{{flag|Papua New Guinea}} *{{flag|Pitcairn Islands}} *{{flag|Samoa}} *{{flag|Solomon Islands}} *{{flag|Tokelau}} *{{flag|Tonga}} *{{flag|Tuvalu}} *{{flag|Vanuatu}} *{{flag|Wake Island}} *{{flag|Wallis and Futuna}} *{{flag|West Papua}} {{col-end}}

====Americas==== {{col-begin}} | width="50%" align="left" valign="top" style="border:0"| *{{flag|Canada}} (connected to Pacific Ocean) *{{flag|Chile}} (connected to Pacific Ocean) *{{flag|Colombia}} (connected to Pacific Ocean) *{{flag|Costa Rica}} (connected to Pacific Ocean) *{{flag|Ecuador}} (connected to Pacific Ocean) *{{flag|El Salvador}} (connected to Pacific Ocean) *{{flag|Guatemala}} (connected to Pacific Ocean) | width="50%" align="left" valign="top" style="border:0"| *{{flag|Honduras}} (connected to Pacific Ocean) *{{flag|Mexico}} (connected to Pacific Ocean) *{{flag|Nicaragua}} (connected to Pacific Ocean) *{{flag|Panama}} (connected to Pacific Ocean) *{{flag|Peru}} (connected to Pacific Ocean) *{{flag|United States}} (connected to Pacific Ocean) {{col-end}}

== See also == {{commons category}} * [[AUKUS]] * [[Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation]] * [[Austronesian peoples]] * [[Bangladesh and the Indo-Pacific Strategy]] * [[China Rim]] * [[Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership]] * [[East of Suez]] * [[Global Southeast]] * [[Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Collaboration]] * [[Indian Ocean Rim Association]] * [[Indo-Mediterranean]] * [[Inner Asia]], the landlocked parts of Asia * [[Indo-Pacific Century]] * [[Orient]] * [[Pacific Rim]] * [[Quad Critical Minerals Initiative Framework]] * [[Strait of Malacca]] * [[Valeriepieris circle]] * [[United States Indo-Pacific Command]]

== References == {{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Further reading== {{Library resources box}} * {{cite book |last1=Doyle |first1=Timothy |last2=Rumley |first2=Dennis |author-link2=Dennis Rumley |year=2020 |title=The Rise and Return of the Indo-Pacific |location=Oxford |publisher=OUP}} * {{cite book |editor-last=Auslin |editor-first=Michael R.|editor-link=Michael Auslin |year=2020 |title=Asia's New Geopolitics: Essays on Reshaping the Indo-Pacific |location=Stanford |publisher=Hoover Institution Press}} [https://www.amazon.com/Asias-New-Geopolitics-Reshaping-Indo-Pacific/dp/0817923241/ excerpt] * {{cite book |last=Medcalf |first=Rory |year=2020 |title=Indo-Pacific Empire: China, America and the Contest for the World's Pivotal Region }} [https://www.amazon.com/Indo-Pacific-Empire-Contemporary-American-Canadian-dp-1526150786/dp/1526150786/ excerpt] * J. Cannon, Brendon; Rossiter, Ash, eds. (August 2018). ''Rising Powers Quarterly''. '''3''' (2). [https://risingpowersproject.com/issue/the-indo-pacific-regional-dynamics-in-the-21st-centurys-new-geopolitical-center-of-gravity/ special issue on "The "Indo-Pacific" – Regional Dynamics in the 21st Century's New Geopolitical Center of Gravity"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200817172402/https://risingpowersproject.com/issue/the-indo-pacific-regional-dynamics-in-the-21st-centurys-new-geopolitical-center-of-gravity/ |date=17 August 2020 }} * [https://news.usni.org/2021/01/15/u-s-strategic-framework-for-the-indo-pacific ''2018 United States Strategic Framework for the Indo-Pacific'']

[[Category:Indo-Pacific|*]] [[Category:Marine realms]] [[Category:Oceans]] [[Category:Indian Ocean]] [[Category:Pacific Ocean]]