In July 2026, the foreign ministers of the Quad countries — Japan, the United States, Australia, and India — met on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Manila and issued the “Joint Press Release on Quad Cooperation with ASEAN,” reaffirming their support for ASEAN centrality and unity and the “ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP).” The Quad foreign ministers also reaffirmed their commitment to a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)” and outlined their intention to deepen cooperation with ASEAN, with FOIP as a core pillar.
It has been ten years since former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe proposed the FOIP at the Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI) in Nairobi, Kenya, in August 2016. Abe viewed Asia and Africa, and the Pacific and Indian Oceans, as an inseparable and integrated region, and expressed Japan’s determination to maintain “freedom from coercion,” the “rule of law,” and a “market economy” across it. The FOIP philosophy won broad acceptance across the Indo-Pacific, from advanced Western nations such as the United States and Australia to developing countries including African nations, India, and ASEAN member states. In June 2019, ASEAN adopted the AOIP as its own Indo-Pacific vision, guided by principles including ASEAN centrality, inclusiveness, and respect for international law.
In promoting FOIP, Japan has placed particular emphasis on cooperation with ASEAN. Southeast Asia is a strategically vital region connecting the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and one facing pressure to change the status quo by force or coercion. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attended the Japan-ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in October 2025. At the meeting, she stated Japan’s commitment to safeguarding the peace, stability, and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific together with ASEAN, by evolving FOIP — a core pillar of Japanese diplomacy — and deepening synergy with the AOIP.
Following the summit, the leaders of Japan and ASEAN issued the “Joint Statement on the Further Promotion and Implementation of the AOIP.” Reaffirming that Japan’s FOIP and the AOIP “share relevant fundamental principles,” the statement affirmed that implementing the AOIP contributes to a rules-based international order and a free and open Indo-Pacific. It also welcomed “Japan’s efforts to promote cooperation rather than division and confrontation through the FOIP.” The statement reflected a shared commitment by Japan and ASEAN to support both frameworks and to cooperate for Indo-Pacific stability and prosperity on the basis of shared principles.
When Takaichi visited Hanoi, Vietnam, in May 2026, she delivered a speech at Vietnam National University outlining the “Updated FOIP.” She asserted that ten years on, the case for FOIP remains as strong as ever, and that Japan will continue working toward an international order based on “freedom,” “openness,” “diversity,” “inclusiveness,” and the “rule of law.” She identified structural changes in the international order — “intensifying geopolitical competition,” “accelerated technological innovation,” and the “rise of the Global South” — and stressed the need to adapt FOIP accordingly. She expressed her determination to drive the updated FOIP with a focus on three priority areas: (1) building economic infrastructure for the AI and data era, (2) co-creating economic growth opportunities and sharing rules, and (3) enhancing cooperation in the security field.
The updated FOIP was also welcomed at the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in New Delhi, India, in late May. The Quad foreign ministers reaffirmed their support for a FOIP that enables countries to develop resilience and strengthen autonomy, and announced four concrete initiatives toward its realization: (1) maritime and transnational security, (2) economic prosperity and security, (3) critical and emerging technology, and (4) humanitarian assistance and emergency response. Quad cooperation grounded in FOIP has visibly deepened.
That the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was held alongside the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in July 2026, and expressed its support for the AOIP, is a clear signal that cooperation among Japan, the United States, Australia, India, and ASEAN — with FOIP as a core pillar — continues to advance. A spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized the updated FOIP as a “sugarcoated scheme that sows division and rivalry” and claimed it “will never win genuine recognition from regional countries.” Ten years after its inception, with broad and deepening support across the Indo-Pacific, the FOIP record speaks for itself.
