尽管印度洋-太平洋地区缺乏政治一体化以及共同安全框架，但自由贸易正在不断延伸，其中最近的要数包含11国的《全面且先进的跨太平洋伙伴关系协定 》 （ Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership ） ， 而中国也已经成为本地区大多数经济体的主要贸易伙伴。
Despite a lack of political integration and the absence of a common security framework in the Indo-Pacific, free-trade agreements are proliferating, the latest being the 11-country Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). China has emerged as the leading trade partner of most regional economies.