Section 1 Promotion of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)” Based on the Rule of Law

1 Overview

The Indo-Pacific region, which stretches from the Asia Pacific across the Indian Ocean to the Middle East and Africa, is the core of the world's vitality and supports more than half of the world's population. At the same time, the region is home to several countries with strong military capabilities, and there have been some acts that shake the very foundation of the international order based on the rule of law. The region also faces a variety of threats, such as piracy, terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, natural disasters, and illegal fishing. It is essential to ensure peace and prosperity in the entire region and beyond, through establishing a free and open order based on the rule of law.

Japan has long emphasized the importance of taking a holistic view of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, as seen in the “Confluence of the Two Seas” speech regarding the Indian and Pacific Oceans delivered by Prime Minister Abe to the Indian Parliament in 2007. In August 2016, this concept was brought to fruition as the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)” vision, which Prime Minister Abe announced to the world in his keynote speech at the 6th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI) in Kenya. In his speech, Prime Minister Abe stated that the key to stability and prosperity of the international community is the dynamism created by combining “Two Continents”─rapidly-growing Asia and potential-filled Africa─and “Two Oceans”─free and open Pacific and Indian Oceans─and that Japan would work to realize prosperity in Asia and Africa.

Japan has widely promoted efforts to realize FOIP based on the rule of law in cooperation with like-minded countries from 2016 to the present. As a result, the vision of FOIP first proposed by Japan has now gained broad support in the international community, including the U.S., Australia, India, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Republic of Korea (ROK), the European Union (EU), and other European countries. Various consultations and cooperation are also underway. Numerous policy documents on the Indo-Pacific have been released, such as the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) adopted at the ASEAN Summit in June 2019, the Joint Communication on the EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific presented by the EU in September 2021, the Indo-Pacific Strategy presented by the U.S. in February 2022, Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy, and the Strategy for a Free, Peaceful, and Prosperous Indo-Pacific Region presented by the ROK in November 2022.

In March 2023 in India, Prime Minister Kishida announced the New Plan¹ for a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP).” He explained in detail the approach and efforts for FOIP at a historic turning point to achieve the goal of leading the international community toward cooperation rather than division and confrontation.

The new plan clearly emphasizes the importance of “rulemaking through dialogue,” “equal partnership among nations,” and an approach focusing on “human” as the approaches to be taken going forward, while maintaining the core principles of defending “freedom” and “the rule of law,” and respecting “diversity,” “inclusiveness,” and “openness.” The new plan also clarifies that Japan will strengthen coordination with various countries, expand the networks among countries that share the FOIP vision, and direct efforts in the spirit of co-creation. Furthermore, it sets forth “four pillars” of cooperation for FOIP (Principles for Peace and Rules for Prosperity, Addressing Challenges in an Indo-Pacific Way, Multi-layered Connectivity, and Extending Efforts for Security and Safe Use from the “Sea” to the “Air”).

• 1 For more information on the New Plan for FOIP, see the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website:
  https://www.mofa.go.jp/fp/pc/page3e_001336.html