We Are Tomodachi Spring 2018

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29India also explicitly identify with the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” framework, as the formation of a “Quad” forum among these four maritime democracies demonstrates. Middle and smaller powers ranging from Korea to Indonesia and Sri Lanka would strongly support this vision as well, though these powers are more vulnerable to Chinese pressure and careful about appearing to align against Beijing. Indeed, both Tokyo and Washington will have to accept that not all governments will openly sign on to the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” strategy even though they will privately want the major maritime democracies to stand together for an open and rules based regional order—and most importantly, to dissuade Beijing from thinking it can change that order based on coercion.The “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy” for investment and sustainable economic development in the regionJapan’s version of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific has one strength over the Trump administration’s version, and that is the recognition that all the nations encompassed in the arc from Africa to the Western Pacific desire investment and sustainable economic development. Indeed, most are more interested in that aspect than open competition with China, as much as they each worry about Beijing using its “Belt and Road” initiative to establish a more hegemonic position that might limit their own freedom of action. The U.S.-Japan-Australia-India Quad has begun taking up the theme of “quality infrastructure,” which suggests that Washington has realized this shortcoming in its own formulation. Japan provides far more government-supported infrastructure assistance through yen loans that the United States does through its official lending, but together the United States and Japan can bring a great deal to the table through cooperation with the Asia Development Bank and the World Bank. The Japanese decision to cooperate with China on the Belt and Road was wise, since this will give Tokyo some opportunity to hold China to higher levels of transparency and accountability through cooperation rather than competition. Japan and other like-minded states will have more leverage in this approach if there are parallel efforts to expand support for infrastructure investment by the developed countries and the international institutions.The role of values of Japanese and American strategies in the Indo-Pacific regionThere is another dimension to shaping the direction and impact of the Belt and Road that Tokyo and Washington must both take more seriously—and that is the role of values in our respective “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” strategies. The goal should not be to force the diverse political systems across Africa, South Asia and East Asia into one model of liberal democracy. On the other hand, the United States and Japan should not ignore governance issues within countries so that we can “keep up” with China. The reason is simple: states that have greater transparency, freedom of press, legislative accountability, and rule-of-law will be more resistant to bribery, coercion and subjugation and will insist on higher quality infrastructure. Our goal is not to stop China’s infrastructure investment, but instead to keep healthy pressure on Beijing to conform with established international norms. That pressure will only be effective if it also comes from within recipient nations. I would conclude by arguing therefore that Japan’s “Free and Open Indo Pacific” framework is an important element of grand strategy and that it has a good chance of being effective, if we define the goal as shaping the region’s response to China’s rise rather than somehow trying to “contain” China. The international relations of the Indo-Asia-Pacific are a contradictory mix of cooperation and competition, and the United States and Japan will need nuanced approaches that recognize both aspects of the problem and leverage our strong alliance and our partnerships with like-minded states.