Security dynamics are changing rapidly in the Indo-Pacific. The region is home not only to the world's fastest-growing economies, but also to the fastest-increasing military expenditures and naval capabilities, the fiercest competition over natural resources and the most dangerous strategic hot spots. One might even say that it holds the key to global security.
The increasing use of the term "Indo-Pacific" — which refers to all countries bordering the Indian and Pacific oceans — rather than "Asia-Pacific," underscores the maritime dimension of today's tensions. Asia's oceans have increasingly become an arena of competition for resources and influence. It now seems likely that future regional crises will be triggered and/or settled at sea.
The main driver of this shift has been China, which over the last five years has been working to push its borders far out into international waters, by building artificial islands in the South China Sea. Having militarized these outposts — presented as a fait accompli to the rest of the world — it has now shifted its focus to the Indian Ocean.