Power in the Indo-Pacific region: VCE Politics Unit 4

What this dot point is asking

Unit 4 is about strategic competition for power and influence in the Indo-Pacific. Area of Study 1 asks how power is exercised in the region, then asks you to study ONE state in depth. This page sets the regional context that you need whichever state you choose: China, Japan, India, Indonesia or the United States.

The answer

Defining the region

The study design defines the Indo-Pacific as the area from the eastern Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, linked through Southeast Asia and including India, North Asia and the United States. It lists dozens of states, from Australia, Bangladesh and China to Pacific states such as Fiji, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, plus Russia, Taiwan, Timor-Leste and the United States. Know that the term "Indo-Pacific" itself reflects a strategic idea: it places India and the Indian Ocean alongside the Pacific, which matters for how states define their interests.

How power is exercised

States combine sources of power (economic size, military capability, population, geography, diplomatic networks, cultural appeal) with foreign policy instruments (diplomacy, trade, foreign aid, military activity). In the Indo-Pacific this happens through:

• Bilateral alliances and partnerships. The United States has treaty allies including Japan, South Korea, Australia and the Philippines.
• Minilateral groupings. The Quad (Australia, India, Japan and the United States) coordinates on maritime security, technology and supply chains. AUKUS (Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, announced September 2021) links nuclear-powered submarine and advanced capability cooperation. A United States Department of Defense review of AUKUS was completed in December 2025 and endorsed the partnership.
• Regional institutions. ASEAN provides a platform for dialogue and norms, and the Pacific Islands Forum is the main political body for Pacific states.
• Economic statecraft. Trade agreements, investment, infrastructure finance, and increasingly tariffs and export controls. The 2025 United States tariffs and China's measures against Japan after November 2025 are examples.
• Military presence and signalling. Patrols, exercises and basing, including disputes in the South China Sea and around Taiwan.

Strategic competition

The central dynamic is rivalry between the United States and China, with other states (Japan, India, Indonesia, Australia and ASEAN members) trying to protect their interests, often by hedging, balancing or combining cooperation with competition. The United States' December 2025 National Security Strategy said that deterring conflict over Taiwan is a priority and that the United States does not support unilateral change to the status quo, while also emphasising the Western Hemisphere and asking allies to carry more of the burden.

Worked example

Question. Explain one way power is exercised in the Indo-Pacific.

Model answer. Power is exercised through economic statecraft. In November 2025, after Japan's prime minister said a Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a Japanese military response, China urged its citizens not to travel to Japan and suspended Japanese seafood imports. China used its position as a major market to pressure Japan, an example of economic power applied for political purposes.

Try this

Q1

Name two minilateral groupings in the Indo-Pacific. Model answer: The Quad and AUKUS.

Q2

Explain why the Indo-Pacific is described as a region of strategic competition. Model answer: The United States and China compete for influence, and other states adjust their alliances, trade and military policies in response.

Q3

Identify one source of power and one instrument a state uses in the region. Model answer: Economic size is a source; trade policy or foreign aid is an instrument.