The book studies the development of Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) vision. As strategic competition grows, the lessons from the pandemic, the deepening Sino-US rivalry, and the United States losing grip on the current world strategic environment all compel Japan to focus its attention on the Indo-Pacific region. The volume examines Japan's foreign policy through an analysis of its strategic agenda, economic calculations, maritime security concerns, and soft power policies. It looks at Japan’s relations with United States, Australia, India, Vietnam, Africa, South Korea, Indonesia, and the United States in the context of Japan’s bilateral and multilateral arrangements. An important contribution to the study of politics in the Indo-Pacific region, the book will be an indispensable resource for students and researchers of political science, international relations, foreign policy, geopolitics, security studies, strategic studies, as well as area studies – namely East and Southeast Asian studies and Indo-Pacific studies.

This book studies the internal framework of the Indo-Pacific region and examines the strategic issues faced by the countries that belong to it. Over the years, the Indo-Pacific region has become a prime driver of global economic growth and has generated considerable interest from countries both within and without. The region is now witnessing an intensified great power competition for greater geostrategic space, thus shaping the 21st-century world order. The volume focuses on the emerging strategies of the main actors involved in this competition. It discusses various key issues such as the purpose of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue and its post-pandemic agenda, the conceptualisation of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) amid an intensifying Sino-US great power competition, the strategies of ASEAN and South Korea, China's activities in the Indo-Pacific, economic architecture and supply chain disruption in the region, as well as the geopolitical strategy of the European Union for the Indo-Pacific. A crucial study of the Indo-Pacific region in the post-COVID-19 world, the book gives fresh insights into the areas of convergence and divergence in the strategic visions of the many regional actors. It will be of great interest to policymakers as well as students and academics in the fields of political science, international relations, foreign policy, geopolitics, security studies, strategic studies, as well as area studies, namely East and Southeast Asian studies, European Union studies, American studies and Australian studies.

Despite a tremulous start, SAARC member countries have plodded ahead tentatively but diligently to overcome differences and achieve meaningful progress towards its objective of creating an environment of cooperation and cordiality among the member nations. With an upsurge in regionalism and with focus of international interest shifting to the Asian region, major world powers are seeking to use the platform of SAARC to enhance their relationship with the countries of the region. Consequently many of them have gained Observers status in SAARC and many others are aspiring to it. Strategically placed between the South East Asia and West Asia, some of the SAARC nations have become critical for energy security as Sea Lines of Communication weave around them. The current changes in the international arena and the progress made by other regional entities has further provided positive impetus to each of the member states of SAARC to appreciate the significance of the organization and to reap benefits from it collectively as well as bilaterally. This volume, the product of an international conference held on ''Japan-SAARC Partnership: A Way Ahead'' by the Centre for East Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Sasakawa Peace Foundation is an attempt to look at Japan's relation with SAARC nations from various dimensions- regionalism, politics, security, economics and use of soft power. Enriched by contribution from Japanese and Indian scholars along with scholars from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, it brings in multi-dimensional perspectives in form of eighteen chapters, which would appeal to the specialist of international relations.