Introduction
The Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy is a term describing a strategy championed by the United States and other Pacific Rim democracies, along with India, to promote democracy and economic growth in the region. The use of the term "Indo" and inclusion of India is viewed as being deliberate to reflect the importance of India in Asian economics and politics, and also to provide greater counterbalance to China, the region's most important non-democratic state (PTI, 2018). In the context of this strategy, free refers to sovereignty of nations to carve their own path, free from coercion of other states, and open refers to open infrastructure, the encouraging of greater regional infrastructure integration that comes as part of the strategy (Wong, 2018).
In addition to promoting democracy, the Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy will also promote economic growth in the region, in a few different ways. For one, the region's major democracies compromise some of the largest economies in the world, and if they work together for mutual benefit, that benefit will inherently focus on economic objectives. It is the in the interest of the free and open approach that India in particular be elevated in terms of its economic – and therefore political – status.
Greater levels of cooperation among these leading democracies will also allow them to work together to promote growth in other countries in the region, even if those countries are hesitant to adopt democratic reforms. As China's rise illustrates, democracy is not a prerequisite to economic growth, but there is a strong correlation between democracy and high levels of development.
Asia's Quad
The "quad" in the region refers to Japan, India, the United States and Australia (Mishra, 2013). This diverse group of nations essentially surrounds China and the Southeast Asia region. Strength for all four would mean that China would...
As of now, there is no formal trade agreement between these nations that comprise the Quad, but if the Free and Open Strategy encourages the development of economic cooperation between these nations, that will reduce trade barriers between them. Strengthening India is a key element of this – the other three are wealthy nations that are already regional or world powers, and unleashing India's economic potential through the reduction of barriers and strengthening of infrastructure would provide these nations with increased trade opportunities, in addition to building a greater counterbalance to Chinese influence.
One of the underlying economic principles at work in the concept of the Quad is that by reducing trade barriers between these nations, and other major regional players, greater economic ties will be forged. India is key to the dynamic, because the term "Indo" is specifically used to include India. India's economy is rapidly growing, and the country's size and untapped potential are more likely to help the Quad continue to grow and strengthen, whereas the developed economies of the US, Japan and Australia will see much slower growth.
However, the US is necessary to the success of the Quad's economic rise. Japan's economic growth is very slow, and Australia's economy is simply not large enough, so it is integral that the US serves as the anchor for the Quad. Without the support of the US, in terms of spearheading tariff reductions and infrastructure investment, Japan and Australia together will not be able to influence change in India's economy fast enough to provide any meaningful counterbalance to China. The US is therefore seen as the critical driver of change at the heart of creating economic growth within this Quad of countries. In particular, the US is…
