To mark the second anniversary of the United States Indo-Pacific Strategy, the US Department of State organised a briefing with Afreen Akhter, deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, and Camille Dawson, deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, for select journalists from the region, on February 16.
Akhter spoke about the US's sustained public and private sector engagement across the Indo-Pacific, which has grown by leaps and bounds over the past decade. Trade, aid, remittances and FDI have grown by around 20 per cent, going up to $24.5 trillion. "This really shows how the United States has evolved from being an aid provider to an investment partner, particularly as many of the economies have really grown in the region,” she said.
Apart from trade and commerce, the Biden administration is also focused on issues of governance and democracy. The South Asia Governance Fund provides grants to civil society organisations across Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, supporting the development of democratic institutions, independent media and the rule of law.
The US is also beefing up its diplomatic presence in the region through new embassies and regional multilateral platforms. Last year, Washington opened a new embassy in the Maldives with its first-ever resident ambassador. Security partnership is yet another area of focus, especially maritime security and domain awareness. "In Sri Lanka, for instance, we have provided three Coast Guard cutters, and we recently announced four new patrol boats to the Maldives," said Akhter.
India is a key partner, playing an important role in the US scheme of things in the Indo-Pacific. Both countries are working on an initiative to advance regional resilience to counter transnational threats. The Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment is a joint platform aimed at deploying a multibillion-dollar climate infrastructure fund. The initiative will fund multiple projects, including 40,000 public e-buses through an innovative payment security mechanism financed by the two governments and partners in philanthropy.
Dawson spoke about the attempt towards global democratic renewal through the Summit for Democracy and also the attempts to ensure accountability on human rights abuses in countries such as China, North Korea and Myanmar. The threat posed to the rules-based global order by powerful autocratic regimes has grown manifold in the past few years.
"In 2023, we launched inaugural dialogues on human rights and gender equality with partners such as ASEAN, the ROK (South Korea), Australia, and Japan. And we have continued our unwavering support for a return to a path to inclusive democracy in Burma, including by providing humanitarian assistance."
The US hosted a Trilateral Leaders’ Summit at Camp David last year, along with the leaders of Japan and South Korea, to deepen security, economic, and technology cooperation. Washington is also working with the QUAD (United States, India, Australia and Japan) on initiatives ranging from delivery of vaccines to maritime domain awareness tools to providing scholarship and educational opportunities for students and professionals.
While the two deputy assistant secretaries sounded bullish about the Indo-Pacific partnership, it has to be kept in mind that there are concerns that need urgent answers.
The Biden administration has not been able to formulate a trade policy for the region to compensate for President Trump’s withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Trump, who could return to the White House early next year, has already declared that the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), the only trade-related initiative by the Biden administration for the region, would be "dead on day one." As free trade is not an area which enjoys bipartisan support, it could hamper Washington's efforts to deepen its engagement with the region.
During the interaction, THE WEEK pointed out that the growing tendency shown by Congress to adopt a more isolationist foreign policy could be another major challenge. The Congress has been largely dysfunctional throughout the last year, especially with regard to foreign policy. The latest Ukraine bill, which is unlikely to get past the House in its present form, is a case in point. This is an election year and such isolationist tendencies are only going to harden.
Akhter, however, said that the Indo-Pacific Strategy that the Biden-Harris administration put forward was not the first Indo-Pacific strategy; the Trump administration, too, had an Indo-Pacific strategy, revealing an element of bipartisan consensus. “There are a lot of similarities between the two strategies if you look at them. And I think what this means is that across the parties, across the political spectrum here in Washington, there is broad and longstanding support for the Indo-Pacific,” she said. “And you see that not just reflected in these strategies and these documents, but also in resourcing. If you look at the FY24 budget bills passed in both the House and the Senate, which are ruled by different parties, they both include earmarks for the Indo-Pacific that are quite high. So that really demonstrates that in terms of policy and in resources, there is an enduring commitment to the Indo-Pacific that crosses party lines and that crosses administrations."