Modi, Trump set to talk security, trade
Leaders to hold bilateral meeting today
NEW DELHI: On the eve of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with US President Donald Trump in Manila, the two countries along with Japan and Australia on Sunday called for a “free and inclusive” Indo-Pacific region, signalling a broader alliance to counter China.
Modi arrived in the Philippines’ capital on Sunday for a three-day visit during which he will attend the 15th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)-India and the 12th East Asia summits on Tuesday.
On Monday, Modi and Trump would discuss counter-terrorism, trade and the security situation in the Indo-Pacific region, where China has been expanding its military presence, sources said.
“The two leaders are expected to discuss the common strategy for Indo-Pacific, a great deal of which figured in Sunday’s meeting,” an official said in New Delhi.
Seen as a concrete move towards a quadrilateral grouping, or the Quad, the first meeting of its officials on Sunday stressed on promoting peace and stability in an increasingly interconnected region, a release said.
A free, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific region would serve the long-term interests of all countries in the region and of the world at large.
The term Indo-Pacific gained currency recently, with its usage growing across diplomatic and security circles in US, Australia, India and Japan. Beijing prefers “Asia-Pacific” but to many the term placed an authoritarian China too firmly at the centre.
Trump and his officials used the term repeatedly through his five-nation tour that concludes in Manila.
Beijing’s South China Sea push and the One Belt, One Road plan to build a new Silk Route through a network of roads, rails and ports has caused concern, with Japan proposing a similar project with India and the US.
“This should be seen as a regional architecture of India, Japan, Australia ably assisted by Washington in diverse areas such as connectivity, maritime and counter terrorism cooperation with an aim to check the Chinese influence,” said Sachin Chaturvedi, director general of the Research and Information System for Developing Countries, a New Delhi-based think tank. The views found an echo in Washington. “The return of the Quad is a big geopolitical win for both the US and India. And it only brings them closer,” tweeted Michael Kugelman, a South Asia expert with Wilson Center, a think tank.
Modi and Trump, who met briefly during an Asean dinner on Sunday, would also discuss measures such as the UN and the US declaring people or organisations as terrorists, sources said.
China has been blocking India’s efforts to get Pakistanbased Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar on a UN sanctions list, which would cripple his ability to carry out terror strikes. “This issue continues to be of utmost importance to us. In their last meeting in Washington they took up this issue and they would be discussing this and other counter-terrorism related issues,” an Indian official said.
“...this approach is needed to bring the world’s attention to the issue of terrorism,” Lalit Mansingh, ex-foreign secretary, said.