Page 3 - Indo Pacific Region

India, Australia, and France pledge to work for rules-based Indo-Pacific

India, Australia and France have vowed to jointly work towards a free, open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific amid China's growing muscle-flexing in the region. The overall situation in the Indo-Pacific came up for detailed deliberations at the third 'India-France-Australia trilateral focal points' meeting that took place in Delhi on Wednesday. "The three sides reviewed the progress made under the three pillars of trilateral cooperation: maritime safety and security, marine and environmental cooperation, and multilateral engagement," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. It said the meeting identified new proposals for furthering the trilateral cooperation, including under the framework of the Indo Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) mechanisms. "India, Australia and France reaffirmed their commitment to advancing their shared values and working together towards a free, open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific," the MEA said

Chinese premier Li Qiang flies to Australia after New Zealand visit

Chinese Premier Li Qiang is due to arrive in Australia on Saturday on a relations-mending mission with panda diplomacy, rock lobsters and China's global dominance in the critical minerals sector high on the agenda. China's most powerful politician after President Xi Jinping is expected to visit Adelaide Zoo and a Chinese-controlled lithium processing plant in the Kwinana Beach industrial estate, as well as Australia's Parliament House, during a visit that will end on Tuesday. Li's visit is the first by a Chinese premier in seven years and is expected to pave the way for Xi's first journey to Australia since 2014. China initiated a reset of the bilateral relationship after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's center-left Labor Party was elected in 2022. The relationship collapsed during the previous conservative administration's almost decade in power over legislation that banned covert foreign interference in Australian politics, the exclusion of Chinese-owned telecommunications giant

US govt reaffirms unwavering commitment to the Indo-Pacific region

Highlighting significant milestones, Patel referenced President Biden's initiatives, including a historic trilateral summit at Camp David involving Japan and the Republic of Korea

'Ready to cooperate': G7 foreign ministers advocate free, open Indo-Pacific

The foreign ministers of the G7 have reiterated their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region and emphasised that a growing China that plays by international rules would be of global interest. Terming China a key interlocutor in addressing global challenges, and that the G7 stands ready to cooperate with Beijing on areas of common interest, a G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting Communique on Friday said, Our policy approaches are not designed to harm China, nor do we seek to thwart China's economic progress and development. However, we are concerned that China's nonmarket policies and practices are leading to harmful overcapacity that undermines our workers, industries, and economic resilience. A growing China that plays by international rules would be of global interest, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US, and the High Representative of the European Union said on the final day of the Ministerial meeting on Foreign Affairs that wa

India, France to launch climate fund for startups in Indo-Pacific countries

Two nations agreed to set up the fund after Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to France for Bastille Day celebrations last year

Indo-Pacific to ensure US-India partnership supports allies: Lloyd Austin

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has told lawmakers that by bolstering the Indian military's capabilities, the nations can work together to uphold a more stable balance of power across the wider Indo-Pacific. He also told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee during a Congressional hearing this week on the annual budget of the Department of Defense that the militaries of the US and India are accelerating operational activities to boost maritime security in the Indian Ocean. "By bolstering the Indian military's capabilities, we can work together to uphold a more stable balance of power across the wider Indo-Pacific," Austin said and added that "with this budget request, we are beginning a new chapter in US-India relations under our Major Defense Partnership". The defense secretary said, "Our militaries are accelerating joint exercises, information-sharing and other operational activities to boost maritime security in the Indian Ocean." "We are committed to ensuring that th

Extreme heat in East Asia, Pacific putting millions of children at risk: UN

Warnings over more intense and frequent heat waves this summer are especially worrying in the region, as high humidity levels make it more difficult for the body to cool down naturally

Aiming for 15% revenue share out of Asia in next few years: SailPoint CEO

US-based company SailPoint Technologies uses AI to track user behaviour patterns and identify abnormal user behaviour in terms of accessing organisational data

US aims to be 'economic partner of choice' for Indo-Pacific, says official

Raimondo said she is often asked if the United States is asking countries in the Indo-Pacific to choose between China and the United States

Germany to boost Indo-Pacific engagement with military deployment to India

Germany has planned a "never before" military deployment to India to underline that its engagement in the Indo-Pacific is "serious and long lasting". "So what we have planned this year, together with our Indian partners, is something that has never been there before the German Air Force. The German Air Force will send jets to India, but not on our own. We never go alone. We will do it with the French, Spanish and British," said Sebastian Fuchs, a spokesperson for the German embassy here. The Indian Air Force (IAF) will host the large-scale multi-nation military exercise in southern India in August. Germany will dispatch a significant contingent of military aircraft, including fighter jets, tankers and transport planes, for the exercise. This will be followed by a visit by a German naval frigate and a combat support ship to Goa in October. This marks the second major naval deployment by Germany to India in recent years. "We will have a frigate that is coming in October to the shores

Indian navy ensuring no country suppresses our Indo-Pacific allies: Rajnath

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said the Indian Navy has ensured that no country with its overwhelming economic and military power can suppress India's friendly countries in the Indo-Pacific region. Due to the Navy's readiness, India is fulfilling its responsibility very well and providing full help to allied countries in the Indian Ocean, he said. "We have ensured that there is no kind of hegemony in the Indian Ocean," Singh said addressing a gathering after inaugurating a new administrative building of the Naval War College near Goa capital Panaji. On the occasion, he also virtually unveiled an aircraft carrier pier and auxiliary vessel pier at the Sea Bird naval base at Karwar in neighbouring Karnataka. "Our Navy ensures that no country, with its overwhelming economic and military power, can suppress our friendly countries or crush their sovereignty in the Indo-Pacific region," he said. "The readiness with which the Indian Navy stands with our allies provides substant

India, US are key stakeholders in Indo-Pacific: Defence secy Aramane

This is the second INDUS-X meeting. The first was in June 2023 during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to the US

US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma to visit India next week

United States' Indian-American Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma will be on a six-day long official visit to India, Sri Lanka and Maldives next week to strengthen bilateral ties with the nations, along with reaffirming America's enduring commitment to a free, open, secure, and prosperous region. Verma, who is currently the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, and the second senior post in the State Department, will travel to India, Maldives, and Sri Lanka from February 18-23 to strengthen America's cooperation with each of these key Indo-Pacific partners. Shortly following the two-year anniversary of the US Indo-Pacific Strategy, his trip will reaffirm the United States' enduring commitment to a free, open, secure, and prosperous region, a media release said. In New Delhi, Verma will meet with senior government officials, business leaders, and entrepreneurs to advance the US-Indian global strategic partnership on a full range of issues, including economic ..

Indo-Pacific strategy has enhanced security, prosperity: White House

The execution of Indo-Pacific Strategy has made the United States and the key region more secure and more prosperous, and expanded the bilateral partnership with India in unprecedented ways, the White House said Friday. Addressing the media on the second anniversary of the launch of the landmark foreign policy strategy of the Biden administration, Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the National Security Council of the White House, said "the United States has never been in a stronger position in the Indo-Pacific". "Over the past two years, we have made historic progress in advancing an Indo-Pacific that is free and open, connected, prosperous, secure, and resilient. Thanks to President Biden's leadership, the United States has never been in a stronger position in the Indo-Pacific," she said. In the two years since the launch of the Indo-Pacific Strategy, the US has reinvested and revitalized its alliances and partnerships and taken them to new heights, Watson said. "We have deepene

Support to Pacific nations with policing shouldn't alarm Australia: China

China's ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, sought to reassure on Wednesday that China's increased involvement in the Pacific, particularly in policing efforts, should not be a cause of alarm for Australia. Xiao, speaking at his first news conference of the year in Canberra on Wednesday, maintained that Australia should not harbour anxiety about China's intentions in the region. Pacific Islands countries is an area where China and Australia can cooperate and can contribute together instead of asking them to choose between the two," Xiao said. What China has been doing is to help them to for their social stability, economic development and for bilateral trade relations." Concerns of China's encroachment in the South Pacific had escalated last year when the Solomon Islands signed a security pact with China, raising fears of a military buildup in the region. We're not seeking military strategies, we're not seeking military purposes, and there's no need for any so-called anxiety on the

2023 defence wrap: US supports India's defence modernisation plans

Calling 2023 a 'decisive year', the US Department of Defence, in an official release has stated that it is supporting allies and partners as they invest in their capabilities

Aimed at boosting ties, Taiwan, Canada sign bilateral investment agreement

The Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Arrangement is part of Canada's plan to increase trade and influence in the Indo-Pacific region

Quad to 'detect and deter' cyber-attacks to keep Indo-Pacific resilient

The third in-person Quad Senior Cyber Group (QSCG) Principal Meeting took place in Tokyo on December 5-6

China's Xi meets with Vietnamese PM on second day of visit to shore up ties

Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with Vietnam's prime minister and the head of the country's National Assembly on Wednesday, on the second day of his visit to shore up Beijing's relationship with Hanoi after the Southeast Asian nation recently elevated its ties with Japan and the United States. Xi met with Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong on Tuesday, and they announced that China and Vietnam would work toward a community with a shared future, in what was seen as a diplomatic concession by Vietnam to Beijing. The two sides signed 36 agreements, mostly about deepening cooperation," ranging from telecommunications to cross-party exchange, according to Vietnamese media reports. Vietnam has resisted using that phrase in the past but wanted to assuage Beijing's concerns after Vietnam designated both the US and Japan as comprehensive strategic partners" in recent months the highest official designation for a diplomatic relationship. Chinese state media says the designation .

Cooperation in Indian Ocean must be inclusive: Maldives at China Forum

The new Maldives government on Friday said cooperation in the Indian Ocean must include all countries in the region and avoid factionalism to bring about development among the ocean communities in the area. Addressing the China-sponsored second conference of the Indian Ocean Region Forum in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province in southwest China, Maldives Vice President Hussain Mohamed Latheef said his country stands ready to forge stronger bonds, share expertise, and work hand in hand towards a resilient and prosperous Indian Ocean Region. Since the Maldives graduated from the list of Least Developed Countries in 2011, it has sought to strengthen its partnerships in the Indian Ocean and beyond to contribute to peaceful co-existence and prosperity in the region, he said. Cooperation in the Indian Ocean must be inclusive, without discrimination and must include all countries in the region, he said. Inclusivity would alleviate factionalism and contribute to the development and ...