Book Series
Vol. 10
THE RISE OF GLOBAL STRATEGIES:
FREE AND OPEN INDO-PACIFIC CONCEPT
The edited volume is part of the OBIC Book Series, in which ten books have been published so far. This edited work covers a variety of topics, from economic development strategies to concentrated works focusing on a single country. This book is about perceptions of the "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" concept, which has been regularly featured as the American response to the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative.
The Trump administration unveiled its "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" (FOIP) concept in November 2017. The idea was originally floated by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2006, who advocated for the "confluence" of the two oceans to form an "arc of freedom and prosperity". The concept was not well received at the time, but in 2017 US President Donald Trump reiterated the strategy and gave his support, arguing that the region enjoyed growing importance for American direct investment. In addition to its economic importance, it is clear that the strategy is not a value-neutral or descriptive term but a political one, often interpreted in Beijing as a containment strategy. Recently, France and Germany have also released their versions of the Indo-Pacific concept, expressing geopolitical concerns about China's growing power in the region and the world.
The volume contains ten chapters on various aspects of the "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" concept, and the authors of the book come from six countries and ensure that the book offers a comprehensive view of the subject, while special emphasis was put on the strategies of India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, and greater China.
We are very grateful for the support of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (Central Bank of Hungary, MNB) and the Budapest Business School, without whose generosity and commitment to collaboration, this volume would not have been possible.