1 PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii – In the last decade, there has been an increased focus on the region covering the vast area from the west coast of the United States to the west coast of India - known as the Indo-Pacific. This region covers the most area of any of the Department of Defense’s six combatant commands and is a vital driver of the global economy.
The Indo-Pacific includes the world’s busiest international sea lanes and nine of the ten largest ports supporting global commerce. While many think goods are mostly moved by air cargo, in fact more than 80% of the volume of international trade in goods travel throughout the world’s oceans requiring free and open sea lanes to maintain the global economy. Specifically in the Indo-Pacific, one-third of the world’s maritime shipping, valued at more than $3 trillion, flow through the sea lanes in the South China Sea yearly.