US Indo-Pacific strategy will be slow starter

Significance

The trip was part of an effort to advance US President Donald Trump's idea of an Indo-Pacific community stretching from the US west coast to the Indian Ocean, as Pompeo said. With US Defence Secretary James Mattis, Pompeo also co-hosted a meeting with Australian counterparts on July 23-24, and he announced a 113-million-dollar "down payment" of new economic initiatives with the Indo-Pacific on July 30. These activities were intended to reassure Washington's Asian partners of continuing US engagement in Asia.

Impacts

• The 'partner countries' may be selected relative to US private sector sentiment.
• India is likely to be the most immediate beneficiary of the new Indo-Pacific strategy.
• Advancing the Indo-Pacific strategy may rely on trade balances reaching a level the White House feels is fair.