China agrees the 'concept of Indo-Pacific' under ASEAN framework

Sakshi Education

China and ASEAN have agreed to advance cooperation under the framework of 'ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP)' as China for the first time agreed to the 'concept of Indo-Pacific'.

China agrees the 'concept of Indo-Pacific' under ASEAN framework

The joint statement of ASEAN-China special virtual Summit to commemorate the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-China dialogue relations said AOIP is aimed to develop enhanced strategic trust and win-win cooperation between countries in the region. Chinese President Xi Jinping also mentioned AOIP in his speech while addressing the summit as co-chair via video link.Experts consider it a big leap forward for China with respect to the concept of Indo-Pacific which has opposed this concept so far.

There are several Indo-Pacific constructs by different countries complementing each other with a broad geostrategic idea of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) vision came into being in 2016 proposed by Prime Minister Abe Shinzo. Later, U.S. President Donald Trump also announced U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) at the East Asia Summit in November 2019, which is an open, non-treaty-based initiative for countries to work together for cooperative and collaborative solutions to common challenges in the region.

Published date : 24 Nov 2021 05:39PM