Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy: Trade and Democracy

Introduction

The Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) 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 the inclusion of India is viewed as deliberate, reflecting India's importance in Asian economics and politics and providing a greater counterbalance to China, the region's most significant non-democratic state (PTI, 2018). In this context, "free" refers to the sovereignty of nations to chart their own path without coercion from other states, while "open" refers to open infrastructure and the encouragement of greater regional infrastructure integration (Wong, 2018).

In addition to promoting democracy, the Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy aims to promote economic growth in the region in several ways. The region's major democracies comprise some of the largest economies in the world, and cooperation among them for mutual benefit will inherently focus on economic objectives. It is 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 cooperation among these leading democracies will also allow them to work together to promote growth in other countries in the region, even those that are hesitant to adopt democratic reforms. As China's rise illustrates, democracy is not a prerequisite for economic growth, but there is a strong correlation between democracy and high levels of development.

Asia's Quad Alliance

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 Southeast Asia. A strengthened Quad would mean that China is, to some extent, contained — each country extending its sphere of influence outward would provide multiple points of counterbalance. As of now, there is no formal trade agreement between the Quad nations, but if the Free and Open Strategy encourages economic cooperation between them, trade barriers between them will be reduced. Strengthening India is a key element of this: the other three are already wealthy, established regional or world powers, and unlocking India's economic potential through reduced barriers and stronger infrastructure would provide the Quad with expanded trade opportunities while building a greater counterbalance to Chinese influence.

One of the underlying economic principles at work within the Quad is that reducing trade barriers between these nations — and other major regional players — will forge stronger economic ties. India is central to this dynamic, as the "Indo" in "Indo-Pacific" specifically signals India's inclusion. India's economy is rapidly growing, and the country's size and untapped potential are more likely to sustain the Quad's growth and strength, whereas the developed economies of the US, Japan, and Australia are expected to experience much slower growth rates.

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, making it essential that the US serve as the anchor of the Quad. Without US support — in terms of spearheading tariff reductions and infrastructure investment — Japan and Australia together will not be able to influence change in India's economy quickly enough to provide any meaningful counterbalance to China. The US is therefore seen as the critical driver of change at the heart of the Quad's economic growth. In particular, the US is the only nation capable of countering China militarily, and it is the rise of a more militaristic China that has renewed the pivot of Asian countries toward the Indo-Pacific concept (Pant, 2017).