Months after its unveiling, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo furnished details of the United States’ (US) Indo-Pacific Economic Vision (IPEV) in July. As the economic prong of the US’ larger Indo-Pacific strategy, the IPEV aims to expand Indo-Pacific economic engagement, with Washington reassuring ASEAN of its central position in its latest geo-strategic offering.

The IPEV encompasses multilateral cooperation within three fields: digital economy, energy and infrastructure. Under the Digital Connectivity and Cybersecurity Partnership (DCCP), the Trump administration has pledged US$25 million as a down payment to “improve [Indo-Pacific] partner countries’ digital connectivity and expand opportunities for U.S. technology exports”. The DCCP promises to heighten cooperation in cybersecurity capacity-building and promote market-driven digital regulation policies.

…Amalina Anuar is a Research Analyst with the Centre for Multilateralism Studies (CMS) at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore.