Madagascar’s Promising Asia–Pacific Strategy
The growing importance of the Indo-Pacific region in global strategizing amid increasing economic globalization and maritimization of trade has prompted Madagascar to deepen its relationships with Asian countries such as China, Japan and South Korea.
Madagascar, the fourth largest island in the world, is located east of Africa in the Indian Ocean, and has a unique and long-standing history of engagement with the Asia–Pacific. It has been both a land of migration since the seventh century and an interface zone where the mixing of populations of diverse origins prevails at the heart of the ‘globalization of the Old World.’ Such links endure today, taking various political, economic and cultural forms. In addition, the elevated standing of the Indo-Pacific in global strategic thinking has steered Madagascar to turn a little more towards this new centre of the world. Partly, this is due to economic globalization, the maritimization of trade and the development of Asian countries, including the rise of China and India.
The strategic centrality of this area is mediated by the waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, which form a single connected maritime whole. This notion of connectivity and interdependence of maritime flows, as well as the importance accorded to maritime security and freedom of navigation, are at the heart of various Indo-Pacific visions. As such, although Madagascar lacks an articulated strategy for this regional position that it occupies, recent statements by the minister of foreign affairs, Rafaravavitafika Rasata, indicate that this position is one Madagascar wishes to take advantage of, particularly with regard to the eastern part of the world. Faithful to its tradition of all-out diplomacy and non-alignment, Madagascar maintains fairly balanced relations with China, India, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia. In terms of trade, Madagascar’s main export countries in 2024 were the European Union (25 per cent) and the United States (11 per cent), followed by three Asian countries; namely Japan (8 per cent), South Korea (8 per cent) and China (7 per cent). This economic reality corroborates Madagascar’s desire to orient its policy towards the Eastern Hemisphere...
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