Sino-Japanese Reactive Diplomacy as Seen Through the Interplay of the Belt Road Initiative (BRI) and the Free and Open Indo-Pacific Vision (FOIP)

The Indo-Pacific region is now home to at least two competing regionalism road maps, China’s Belt Road Initiative (BRI) and Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific Vision (FOIP). Through comparing their respective development trajectories, this article examines the relationship between these two regionalisation initiatives. Key lines of enquiry include the following: Is the interaction between the BRI and the FOIP Vision reactive, proactive or both? Why has each initiative changed its trajectory? How can we characterise these competing initiatives? This article employs a regionalism matrix analysis that compares two different approaches, integration from a ‘rational-legal perspective’ with an emphasis on broad cooperation and state sovereignty from a ‘process-oriented perspective’ with a focus on exact goals. It finds that the BRI focuses on both a high degree of state sovereignty based on a ‘process-oriented perspective’ and exact cooperation. In contrast, FOIP stresses integration through a ‘rational-legal perspective’, broad cooperation and a shared rules-based order. Furthermore, there is a reactive interplay between these two regionalism frameworks that shapes their orientation and influences their focus.