Abundant space for India to play greater role in East Asia: US

Endorsing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Act East" policy, the US today said there is abundant space for India to play a greater and constructive role in the affairs of all of east Asia, particularly in southeast Asia.
"Without a doubt, there is abundant space for India to play a greater and a constructive role in the affairs of all of east Asia, including and particularly southeast Asia," Daniel Russel, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs told a Washington audience.
"I can attest that India brings an important perspective and important contribution to the discussion among the Asia-Pacific countries," Russel said in response to a question at Brookings Institute - a think tank - referring to his interaction with the leaders of the region.

"In the five years, now, that the US has been participating in the East Asia Summit, I have worked as the senior official involved and I've participated in - at both the foreign minister's level and in leaders' meeting in those discussions that have included the Indian leader, including in November," he said.
Russel said India as the world's largest democracy, as an extraordinary pluralistic society that has an important tradition of tolerance and very strong institutions, is a voice that needs to be heard in East Asia.
India has something to say and something to say based on its own experience, he noted.

"Whether the issue is democratisation in Myanmar, or human rights in Cambodia and Vietnam, or the peaceful handling of border disputes, we want India's voice to be heard," he said.

Russel said India has extraordinary unfulfilled economic capacity, both as a producer and as a market.
"So developing, whether it's the Silk Road or the new Silk Road or the new Silk Road Maritime Band, there are abundant names for it, but developing trade, expanding trade, removing barriers to trade -- this is a project in which we very much want and need India's full participation," he said.
India has an impressive record in terms of UN and international peacekeeping, in terms of regional organisations and regional architecture.

"This is a voice that needs to be heard. What is appealing to me and my colleagues is the fact that Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi has undertaken to build from what has been a look East policy to an act East policy.
"He has shown in word and deed his interest in involving India in the thinking and the affairs of the broader region, engaging in political terms, engaging in economic terms, engaging in the dialogue about future security arrangements. That's very much to be welcomed and something that I'm going to hear more about," Russel said.