Introduction
The emergence of trans-regional economic corridors is drawing considerable attention among academia and policy makers. The potential to harness economic growth by creating these corridors is an area where India is showing interest. While looking at the progress of these corridors in the context of South and Southeast Asia, there is a growing awareness of the benefits of such economic measures which will link regions together to promote trade and economic activity along regions that can complement the movement of goods and people, with economic development and growth along specific sectors. The focus on trans-regional economic corridors between South and Southeast Asia brings to attention the changing regional geo-politics and geo-economics within an area that is being seen as the wider Indo-Pacific. Impacted by the rise of China and India as economic powers and also influenced by the US pivot to Asia or rebalancing which keeps the economic focus of the United States on the wider Indo-Pacific region, this region is witnessing profound changes both politically and economically. With the `engine of global economic growth shifting eastwards’, the potential to harness the integration of economic ties across the region is becoming more crucial.[1]
Among the various trans-regional economic corridors in the region, the Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor is still at a very nascent stage. The very conception of the Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor can be traced to the US-India Strategic Dialogue of 2013, where Secretary of State John Kerry referred to the potential of the Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor, in transforming the prospects for development and investments as well as for trade and transit between the economies of South and Southeast Asia.[2]
Origins of the Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor:
With regard to the specific case of the Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor, its origins lie in the increasing recognition of the Indian and Pacific Oceans as one single maritime entity. The Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor is a vision that is clearly embedded in the `US rebalancing’ and `pivot to Asia’ strategy – which began by late 2011/early 2012.[3] One of the core objectives of the `pivot to Asia’ strategy has been to intensify the US role in the wider Asia-Pacific region, with an emphasis on three critical areas – military planning, foreign policy and economic and trade policies. The core focus of the US rebalance strategy is to ensure that within the context of the wider Asia-Pacific, the United States would continue to engage and play both `a larger and long-term’ role.[4] This larger and long-term role was primarily conditioned upon three tenets – first, that international law and norms were to be respected; second, issues relating to free passage and the freedom of navigation were not hindered or blocked. Third, where emerging powers and their neighbours conflicted over unresolved territorial claims, the US began to emphasize the need to approach resolution through peaceful negotiation.[5] As part of this strategic turn towards Asia there are clearly four areas where the US is increasing its activities and engagement – first, in the area of military deployment, the US strategy in the rebalancing aims to deploy in the Pacific and Atlantic sectors military presence to the tune of 60/40 percent respectively. Second, while there is an overall reduction in the US’ global defence expenditure, in the case of East Asia its defence spending would be increased. Third, the increased interaction and focus on East Asia will be critical and remains very much in tune with the rise of China in this region. This shift eastwards is clearly founded on the fact that the global economic growth has actually shifted eastwards and the rise of China has resulted in altering the regional balance making it imperative for the US to seek a role in the larger dynamics of change.[6] Fourth, in the arena of economic integration the emphasis on the recently concluded Trans-Pacific Partnership will remain very relevant.[7]
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