Indo-Pacific region remains the future engine of the global economy: UK

London, Dec 16: British Parliamentarians and experts have called the Indo-Pacific region one of the greatest current and future engines of the global economy at an event titled Indo-Pacific APPG Dialogue at the House of Commons in London on Wednesday (Dec 14).

 

 

 

 

The event was attended by a number of MPs & Lords including MP Bob Blackman, Chair APPG Indo Pacific, MP Theresa Villiers, Vice Chair, Lord Waverley Vice Chair & Lord Rami Ranger Vice Chair. The Indo-Pacific is emerging as one of the most important geopolitical regions in the world. Despite recent trends and the rise of nationalism and sub-nationalism in political discourse, the transnational interests of countries today have in reality moved well beyond the strict geographical categorizations of earlier times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The region is made up of 14 countries: Australia, Bangladesh, Burma, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the seas connecting the two in the general area of Indonesia. Across much of the Indo-Pacific region, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is using military and economic coercion to bully its neighbours, advance unlawful maritime claims, threaten maritime shipping lanes, and destabilize territory along the periphery of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

 

 

The speakers provided a detailed insight into the emergence of the Indo-Pacific as a region of significance and explored the need for the UK to engage more proactively on the Indo-Pacific framework. Cleo Paskal, a strategic Indo-Pacific expert spoke about the People's Republic of China's influence operations in the Pacific Islands and provided deep insight into the Chinese manoeuvring in the pacific islands over many years.