Japan and the Regional Construction of the Indo-Pacific: A Quantum Perspective on the Strategy of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific

Abstract

The Indo-Pacific region has gained significance with the introduction of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategic vision, first put forward by the former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2016. Following its inception, several actors, including the United States, ASEAN, and South Korea, have integrated the Free and Open Indo-Pacific into their respective foreign policies. In the discipline of International Relations, mainstream realist and liberal theories have traditionally dominated analyses on the Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategies; however, this study advocates for a Quantum International Relations approach. This offers a different perspective by reinterpreting the idea of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific through the lenses of principles drawn from quantum physics.

In this article, I delve into the idea of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific and the regional construction of the Indo-Pacific based on the strategies of Japan and other international actors. To do it, I rest on the onto-epistemological ideas advanced by Wendt and Zanotti to offer an alternative view of the creation and evolution of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific. Furthermore, I make use of the analytical proposals of Murphy and Akrivoulis to incorporate the logic of Quantum International Relations into the study of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific.

Incorporating non-atomism, non-determinism, non-materialism, and emphasizing the co-emergence of social constructions, I challenge the mainstream narratives and highlight the importance of relations and ideas. From a non-atomistic viewpoint, I highlight the evolution of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific from its Japanese origins into an emancipated idea with its own agency. I further explore this idea through a non-deterministic lens, viewing it as a spectrum of possibilities that manifest as international actors acknowledge the region’s significance and contribute to the regional construction. Moreover, I examine the idea of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific with a non-materialist focus, emphasizing the interplay between international actors and the idea itself. Ultimately, this study reveals how the idea of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific and the foreign policy of international actors co-emerge through the interactions between them.

This study mainly analyzes the origins and evolution of the Japanese strategy of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific. In the wake of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s resignation in 2006, Japan embarked on a search for a strategic vision that would give coherence to its diverse interests in an increasingly globalized world. These interests included reinforcing the Japan-US alliance, cooperating with Western Europe, increasing trade with Southeast Asia, protecting the flow of energy resources from the Middle East, and adapting to a growing rivalry with China and North Korea. As a result, in 2006, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs Taro Aso unveiled the "Arc of Freedom and Prosperity," which encompassed a region stretching from Japan to Europe. This initiative was founded on the promotion of universal values such as freedom, basic human rights, the rule of law, and a market-based economy—values that, although more aspirational than factual, were claimed to be shared by all the countries it included.

In this context, the Indo-Pacific was unfolding as a region of strategic priority for Japan. Additionally, the centrality of coordination among the US, Australia, India, and Japan began to be embraced, culminating in the establishment of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue in 2007, which was revived in 2017 as one of the pillars of cooperation for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific. Abe's resignation as prime minister in 2007 and the global crisis, among other factors, slowed down the regional construction of the Indo-Pacific from the Japanese side. However, upon returning to power in 2012, Abe introduced the "Asia's Democratic Security Diamond," signaling a renewed commitment to the regional construction of the Indo-Pacific. Eventually, it was in 2016 that the idea of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific was formally introduced.

The strategy for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, as envisioned by Abe, comprises four key elements. The first is the normative rivalry with China that derives from a staunch defense of the rules-based international order, the rule of law, and the promotion of free movement and free markets. The second is the emphasis on fundamental principles, where the promotion of universal values such as liberal democracy and the defense of human rights is implicitly present throughout the Japanese strategy. The third is the significance of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue as a pivotal actor in the advancement of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, fostering an approach open to cooperation among nations with aligned objectives, while being selective about those who can define the pillars of regional construction. Lastly, the maritime domain is acknowledged as a priority area for realizing a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.

Following Abe's proposal, the idea of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific gained international traction. The strategies of the United States (2018 and 2022), ASEAN (2019), and South Korea (2023) have each contributed to redefine core aspects of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific, including the scope of inclusivity, the significance of universal values, the role of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue and other international organizations, and the importance of the maritime domain.

In 2023, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida presented the "New Plan for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific," a revised strategy for the Indo-Pacific. This proposal reflects the evolution of the idea of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, emphasizing the centrality of ASEAN, broadening the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue’s scope to non-traditional security, downplaying universal values to accommodate cooperation with all types of political regimes, and expanding cooperation to include the air domain. Thus, the successful international circulation, and the ongoing development of the idea of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific has shaped how Japan engages with the Indo-Pacific region.

In conclusion, this study examines the relationship between the idea of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific and international actors, particularly Japan. Using Quantum International Relations as a framework, the study suggests that the interactions between international actors and the idea of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific confers the latter with its own agency. With agency, the idea of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific shapes the foreign policy strategies of the actors that engage with it, including Japan.