US' new Indo-Pacific strategy supports India's 'continued rise and regional leadership'
Washington, February 12: The Biden Administration, with the aim of adapting its role for the 21st century, has announced the new Indo-Pacific strategy, which supports India's "continued rise and regional leadership" in South Asia and the Indian Ocean region.
The White House issued a 12-page fact sheet on Friday afternoon, indicating that it will focus on every corner of the region, from South Asia to the Pacific Islands, in order to strengthen its long-term position and commitment, with an emphasis on supporting and collaborating with India.
"We will continue to build a strategic partnership in which the United States and India work together and through regional groupings to promote stability in South Asia; collaborate in new domains, such as health, space, and cyberspace; deepen our economic and technology cooperation; and contribute to a free and open Indo-Pacific," the official document stated.
It further added that "We recognize that India is a like-minded partner and leader in South Asia and the Indian Ocean, active in and connected to Southeast Asia, a driving force of the Quad and other regional fora, and an engine for regional growth and development."
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The policy document lays out the US' Indo-Pacific strategy, citing the "mounting challenges" posed by the rise of China as a key driver of the "intensifying American focus" on the Indo-Pacific.
The US intends to strengthen Quad as a key regional grouping and ensure it delivers on problems that matter to the Indo-Pacific, according to the document.
"The Quad will play a leading regional role on Covid-19 response and global health security, delivering on its investment to provide an additional one billion vaccines to the region and to the world," stated the document.
The policy document also slammed China, saying that the People's Republic of China (PRC) is using its economic, diplomatic, military and technological might to pursue a sphere of influence in the Indo-Pacific and strive to become the world's most influential power.
"Our collective efforts over the next decade will determine whether the PRC succeeds in transforming the rules and norms that have benefitted the Indo-Pacific and the world," it added.
Citing China's border issues with India, the strategy document said that US allies like India "bear much of the cost of the PRC's harmful behaviour."
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-PTC News
