TOKYO -- Fostering economic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region is gaining traction as a diplomatic strategy among major countries, with the U.S. proposing an infrastructure fund and Australia announcing a separate three-way initiative.
Yet not all countries view the policy as a counterweight to China's Belt and Road initiative. Even Japan, whose prime minister first proposed the "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" plan in 2016 as a response to China's regional advances, is taking a more nuanced approach.
