For close to two years, Chatham House has been researching changes in strategic perceptions of the Indo-Pacific from the points of view of seven countries: the United States, United Kingdom, France, India, the Kingdom of Tonga, Japan and China.
Through field research, roundtables, document analysis, and interviews with hundreds of Indo-Pacific experts and policy-makers, an evolving picture has emerged of a region fundamentally changed by China’s economic, political and military expansion, the response to Covid-19, geoeconomic shifts, and more.
In the midst of this dynamic strategic environment, more countries are actively formulating specific policies for the Indo-Pacific, sometimes without fully examining how these may be perceived by others.
Understanding convergences and divergences in perception is key for making partnerships more effective. It allows countries to cooperate, collaborate and coordinate where there are shared objectives, while mitigating or managing differences.