The United States wants free flow of goods, ideas and people in the Indo-Pacific, across land, sea and cyberspace, according to senior state department officials. They were speaking at a briefing offered to a panel of journalists from India and Taiwan held at Washington, DC, organised by the think tank East West Centre in association with the US embassy in India.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Afreen Akhter stressed the importance of the Quad in the Indo-Pacific and said the grouping was among the foremost avenues for building connectivity within the region and beyond. “The US is working on deepening engagement through the Quad Infrastructure Coordination Group, which has provided more than $48 billion in official finance,” said Akhter.
Efforts are underway to support economic growth and prosperity in the region through the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF). Its main focus is on clean energy, digital and technology sectors and reinforcing regional economies to withstand likely threats of supply chain disruption and corruption. India is a key partner in this initiative, with India-US trade touching $160 billion in 2021 despite restrictions imposed by the pandemic. Other initiatives like the Investment Incentive Agreement and the one on Critical and Emerging Technology are also important, said Akhter, especially in key areas like space cooperation and semiconductors.
Enhancing security cooperation is another major challenge. Akhter cited the example of the new Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness which is expected to help Indian Ocean rim countries to defend their coastal waters against drug trafficking, illegal fishing an other security threats.
The US is working on combating threats like climate change and preventing the outbreak of pandemics like Covid. As part of the initiative, Quad members held the first Indo-Pacific Pandemic Preparedness Tabletop Exercise to equip regional countries to better respond to a novel viral outbreak before it develops into a pandemic. The ASEAN Centre for Pandemic Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases has been set up to focus on infection prevention, antibiotic resistance and zoonotic diseases.
Camille P. Dawson, deputy assistant secretary for east Asian and Pacific affairs, touched upon the growing threat of democratic recession in the region, and gave the example of Myanmar, which is undermining peace and stability in the region. She stressed the importance of protecting and preserving democracy in the region and explained how the Biden administration is keen on avoiding democratic backsliding which would hurt US interests in the Indo-Pacific. She explained the significance of the Summit of Democracy the US was hosting along with South Korea.
The US is also working with Japan for a strategic dialogue to promote human rights and for nurturing democratic resilience. Meanwhile, it is expanding its diplomatic presence in the region by establishing new embassies in the Maldives, Tonga, Kiribati and the Solomon Islands. Another important initiative is the Partners in the Blue Pacific (PBP) programme in which Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the UK, Canada, Germany and South Korea are also members. India has an observer status in the PBP.
Dawson, meanwhile, underscored the centrality of ASEAN in the US policy towards the Indo-Pacific and spoke about the unprecedented expansion in US-ASEAN relations. She said the US was working to bolster regional security by modernising its security partnerships, holding more joint exercises, promoting the capabilities of its partners and forming new grouping like AUKUS. “The US is also augmenting its security presence in the region by designating four new Enhanced Defence Cooperation (EDCA) sites with the Philippines.” Climate crisis is another focus area and the Just Energy Transition Partnership with Indonesia is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Senior state department official Matt Murray said the US remained the key economic partner for countries in the Indo-Pacific, evident from its investments worth $1 trillion and two-way trade worth $2 trillion. To further promote trade integration with the region, the US recently hosted the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation as a platform to advance free, fair and open trade and investment. Washington expects its trade policies in the region to help its partner countries while at the same time ensuring prosperity for American families and workers. Murray also spoke about the importance of the APEC and the IPEF in President Biden's scheme of things. The IPEF basically covers four broad areas: trade, supply chains, clean economy, fair economy. The US is hopeful that IPEF partners could make progress as quickly as possible with negotiations under the four pillars. Beyond APEC and IPEF, Murray also discussed how the US is deepening its economic engagement with the Quad partners, focusing on infrastructure, climate, health security and critical and emerging technologies. “Quad partners pledged $5.2 billion to fight Covid-19,” said Murray. “They also delivered over 670 million vaccine doses worldwide, including 265 million doses to the Indo-Pacific.”