US joins India to counter Russian viewpoint on Indo Pacific

US Deputy National Security Adviser Matthew Pottinger told during a panel discussion at the Raisina Dialogue here, the 'Indo Pacific' is "free and open and does not exclude any nation."

He said the description Indo Pacific actually asks the global community to respect and promote the principles that are held in common.

"It is a community of countries that respects the rule of law, stands up for freedom of navigation," Pottinger said.

Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, who also spoke during the meet, said the reference to 'Asia Pacific' was more of a colonial concept.

"India was connected to China and South East Asia for millennia," Gokhale said.

Earlier in the day, MEA spokesman Raveesh Kumar asserted that New Delhi's vision of Indo Pacific is "not ambiguous".

"India's vision of Indo Pacific is not something which is ambiguous," he said during the weekly media briefing.

In his address at the Raisina Dialogue on Wednesday, Lavrov had criticised Indo-Pacific initiative which is essentially led by the United States.

Gokhale said on Thursday that: "The Asia Pacific as a concept is essentially a colonial concept. Long before colonies came up in Asia, India was connected with the South East Asia and China and other parts of the world."

On Wednesday, Russian Minister Lavrov had sounded critical of the 'Indo Pacific' and said: “Why do you need to call Asian Pacific as Indo-Pacific? The answer is evident… to exclude China. Terminology should be unifying, not divisive."

“.....Our Indians friends are smart enough to understand that," he had remarked.

Image credit : UNI