In defence of the Indo-Pacific: Australia's new strategic map

Abstract

The 2013 Australian Defence White Paper categorically termed Australia's zone of strategic interest the Indo-Pacific, the first time any government has defined its region this way. This raises questions about what the Indo-Pacific means, whether it is a coherent strategic system, the provenance of the concept and its implications for Asian security as well as Australian policy. Indo-Pacific Asia can best be understood as an expansive definition of a maritime super-region centred on South-East Asia, arising principally from the emergence of China and India as outward-looking trading states and strategic actors. It is a strategic system insofar as it involves the intersecting interests of key powers such as China, India and the USA, although the Indo-Pacific subregions will retain their own dynamics too. It suits Australia's two-ocean geography and expanding links with Asia, including India. The concept is, however, not limited to an Australian perspective and increasingly reflects US, Indian, Japanese and Indonesian ways of seeing the region. It also reflects China's expanding interests in the Indian Ocean, suggesting that the Chinese debate may shift towards partial acceptance of Indo-Pacific constructs alongside Asia-Pacific and East Asian ones, despite suspicions about its association with the US rebalance to Asia. Questions about Australia's ability to implement an effective Indo-Pacific strategy must account for force posture, alliance ties and defence diplomacy, as well as constraints on force structure and spending.

2013年澳大利亚防务白皮书将澳大利亚的战略利益带定为“印太”，这在世界上的政府还是头 一次。那么需要问，“印太”究竟何意？它是一个有连贯性的战略系统么？这个概念出处在哪 儿？它对于澳大利亚安全和政策有何影响？“印太”亚洲应该广义地理解为一个以东南亚为中 心的海洋超级区域，是随着中印作为外向型贸易国家和战略主体的兴起而来的。它是一个战略 系统，其中交集了那些关键强国如中、印、美的利益，当然“印太”这个亚区域也有着自身的 动力。它适应了澳大利亚身跨两洋的地理形势，与亚洲以及印度日益扩展的联系。不过这个概 念并不限于澳大利亚视角，也愈益反映了美国、印度、日本、印尼看待该地区的方式。它还反 映了中国在印度洋日益扩展的利益，中国的辩论可能会趋向于部分接受“印太”的建构，就像 “亚太”“东亚”之类说法，而不管其与美国重返亚洲是否有瓜葛。澳大利亚是否有能力实施 有效的“印太”战略，那就要看军势、联盟、防务政策以及武力结构和开销上的限制了。

Keywords:

• defence
• Indo-Pacific
• White Paper
• foreign policy
• strategy
• Asia
• Asia-Pacific
• geopolitics

Notes

1. The author gratefully acknowledges research assistance from Lowy Institute Research Associate Danielle Rajendram in the preparation of this article. Some of the arguments herein are developed further in Medcalf (2013, 2014).

2. In the interests of full disclosure, the author is a member of the independent expert advisory panel to the Australian 2015 Defence White Paper.