Status Signalling in the Indo-Pacific: Strategic Spinning, Military Posturing, and Vaccine Diplomacy
| Published date | 01 February 2025 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/13691481241230862 |
| Author | Xiaoyu Pu |
| Date | 01 February 2025 |
https://doi.org/10.1177/13691481241230862
The British Journal of Politics and
International Relations
2025, Vol. 27(1) 135 –153
© The Author(s) 2024
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sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/13691481241230862
journals.sagepub.com/home/bpi
Status Signalling in the
Indo-Pacific: Strategic
Spinning, Military Posturing,
and Vaccine Diplomacy
Xiaoyu Pu
Abstract
The Indo-Pacific region has emerged as a critical geopolitical platform. Can major powers and
regional states avoid conflict? This article explores the concept of status signalling to better
understand the region. Status signalling aims to demonstrate a state’s preferred ranking in
international society. By applying this concept to new empirical domains, the article shows how
status signalling offers fresh insights into regional trends. As an example of strategic spinning,
the emergence of the Indo-Pacific reshapes strategic thinking and diplomatic practice in the 21st
century. While countries may engage in military posturing to signal their preferred status, the
rising competition in the region is not always a zero-sum game. Countries can signal status by
providing international public goods in non-military domains. The United States and China need
to find ways to handle the potential problem of status dilemmas. Meanwhile, all countries should
prudently manage competing expectations from multiple audiences.
Keywords
China, Indo-Pacific, military posturing, signalling, status, status signalling, strategic spinning, US,
vaccine diplomacy
Introduction
Since the 2010s, political leaders, government officials, and strategic analysts have fre-
quently mentioned the term ‘Indo-Pacific’. However, this term was rarely used by offi-
cials and governments before the 2010s (Medcalf, 2020). Why has the Indo-Pacific region
emerged as an essential geopolitical idea in the 21st century? Why do the United States
and its regional allies enthusiastically embrace the idea of the Indo-Pacific while China
opposes it? How can major powers and regional states manage growing competition
while avoiding confrontation and conflict? As both major Asian and external powers have
Department of Political Science, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA
Corresponding author:
Xiaoyu Pu, University of Nevada, 1664 N Virginia Street, Reno, NV 89557, USA.
Email: xpu@unr.edu
1230862BPI0010.1177/13691481241230862The British Journal of Politics and International RelationsPu
research-article2024
Special Issue Article
136The British Journal of Politics and International Relations 27(1)
intensified their posturing towards and within the Indo-Pacific region, it is helpful to
examine the Indo-Pacific from a signalling perspective in international relations.
Conventional signalling models often deal with short-term processes in a military or
diplomatic crisis, focusing on the signalling of resolve, credibility, and reassurance in
international politics. Status signalling can help us understand the long-term intentions
of states on the world stage. The existing studies on status signalling focus on a small
number of rising powers, especially China (Pu, 2019), leaving a gap in understanding
how the concept applies to other types of states, such as middle and established powers.
The article applies the concept of status signalling to new empirical domains, exploring
the concept of status signalling in analysing the actions of diverse states in the Indo-
Pacific. In particular, the article demonstrates how status signalling can provide new
perspectives on regional trends in the Indo-Pacific. The Indo-Pacific’s emergence has
reshaped strategic thinking and diplomatic practice in the 21st century. Countries may
show their preferred status through military posturing, but the increasing competition in
the region is not necessarily a zero-sum game. Providing international public goods is
another way for countries to signal their status. In addition, the article clarifies the defi-
nition and applications of status signalling, distinguishing status signalling from status-
seeking and highlighting the differences between status signalling and other established
signalling models in international relations.
The article proceeds as follows. The first section conceptualises status signalling and
compares it with alternative signalling models. The second section discusses four types of
status signalling. The third section illustrates various types of status signalling with exam-
ples in the Indo-Pacific region. The fourth section analyses the policy implications of the
multiple audience problem in status signalling for the United States, China, and regional
states. The conclusion summarises the findings and implications.
Status signalling in world politics
In international relations, status signalling aims to shape perceptions of the standing of a
state held by domestic and international audiences. Before discussing the concept of sta-
tus signalling in detail, it is necessary to address some basic questions, such as what is
status in international relations, and why does status matter in world politics? According
to social science research, people care about their social ranking and status (Hopkins and
Kornienko, 2004). Similarly, states care about their status in international relations, which
can be defined as shared beliefs about a given state’s ranking in the international hierar-
chy (Larson et al., 2014: 7). People and states strive for their status for psychological and/
or instrumental reasons. In terms of psychological reasons, they often view status as hav-
ing intrinsic value and treat status as an end itself. However, they sometimes treat status
as a means to achieve various instrumental goals.
In social life, status signals refer to rituals and behaviours people use to demon-
strate their preferred social ranking and standing in a community. For instance,
research in sociology and behavioural economics indicates that a nouveau riche might
choose to signal her status through various strategies (Glazer and Konrad, 1996;
Veblen, 2009). Just like individuals might purchase luxury goods to symbolise their
wealth and status, states might use material goods to symbolise their preferred status
in the international hierarchy. While individuals or corporations might choose to make
significant charitable donations, states can also signal their status by providing inter-
national public goods.
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