Over the past year, there has been a growing interest in the vision of a 'free and open Indo-Pacific'. While the term 'Indo-Pacific' has enjoyed growing use over the last decade among analysts and policy-makers in the United States and Australia, a number of more recent developments have resulted in the narrative gaining greater traction. Despite that increased usage, it is a notion that requires greater depth and a clearer vision, particularly in terms of economic linkages and connectivity.

Key points:

• The notion of a “free and open” Indo-Pacific requires a clearer vision in terms of its economic linkages and connectivity.
• The “China factor” can be one element which further unites the strategic interests of India, Australia, the United States and Japan but is not, of itself, a sufficient glue.
• In a time of US unpredictability and apparent insularity, and the willingness of China to mend its ties with India and Japan, the notion of the Indo-Pacific itself needs to be better defined.
• The Indo-Pacific narrative cannot be driven by platitudes or personalities. It must be deeper and more substantive.