Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos

Indo-Pacific: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last updated

News •

US Army outlines Pacific deployments for possible 2027 China-Taiwan conflict • Oct. 29, 2026, 12:00 PM ET (Taipei Times)

Photos

Map highlighting the Indo-Pacific region, with a shaded area covering the Indian Ocean and the western and central Pacific Ocean. Surrounding continents including Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Americas are labeled, along with major bodies of water such as the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, South China Sea, and Philippine Sea.
President of China Xi Jinping in a dark suit and red tie speaking at a podium with two microphones.
Map of East Asia highlighting the Taiwan Strait, which separates mainland China from the island of Taiwan. The strait is labeled in orange, and surrounding countries such as Japan, South Korea, North Korea, and India are shown for geographic context. An inset globe in the upper left marks the region's location within Asia.
Shinzo Abe
President Joe Biden speaks at a podium with the presidential seal during his inaugural address on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol.
A dense shoal of striped eel catfish with white whiskers and dark bodies featuring light stripes, swimming closely together in the Indo-Pacific ocean.
Map showing the Indo-Pacific region with major marine protected areas highlighted in purple across the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The map labels specific reserves such as the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park in Australia, the Galapagos Marine Reserve in Ecuador, and several U.S. national monuments and reserves, indicating their locations and relative sizes. Surrounding continents including Asia, Australia, North America, and South America are partially visible for geographic context.
Map of the South China Sea region highlighting overlapping territorial claims by China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei. China's claim is shown by a red dashed line called the nine-dash line, enclosing much of the sea and key features like the Paracel Islands, Scarborough Shoal, and Spratly Islands. Each claimant country is shaded in a different color.
Lloyd Austin
See All Images →

Related Topics and References

Topics