Salient Features of the Indo-Pacific Region Conceptualization by Indonesia and India

Abstract

The article is devoted to identifying the features of Indonesia’s and India’s conceptualization of the Indo-Pacific region at the present stage. In this research, the authors use a poststructuralist approach to international relations, namely critical geopolitics, since the Indo-Pacific is a concept based on the political construction of space. In addition, the authors use the elite theory as a second-level theoretical approach to identify the range of actors (institutions) shaping contemporary foreign policy discourse regarding IPR, as well as their role in promoting this concept. Based on the results of the analysis, the authors came to the following conclusions. The goal-setting of the ruling elites of India and Indonesia while using the concept of the Indo-Pacific region is similar: through it they project the perception of themselves as key regional players to create an inclusive and safe prosperity area. At the same time, the geopolitical discourse of the elites in two countries is different. While Indians perceive the IPR as a region in which they want to play a “natural” leader role, Indonesians concentrate on Wawasan Nusantara (the vision of the Indonesian archipelago as a single political, economic, social and cultural space), paying more attention to their own development. For Indonesia, the IPR concept allows ASEAN to remain central to its emerging vision for the region. At the same time, New Delhi’s understanding of the Indo-Pacific concept logically fits into its proactive foreign policy course, one of the main directions of which is the development of ties with Southeast Asian countries.