‘Dark clouds of coercion, confrontation casting shadow in Indo-Pacific’: PM Modi at joint session of US Congress

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speech at the joint sitting of the US Congress referred to the China-Taiwan face-off, though without taking any names, outlining the vision of an Indo-Pacific “free from domination”. He also emphasised that the stability of the region has become one of the central concerns of India and US partnership. “The dark clouds of coercion and confrontation are casting their shadow in the Indo-Pacific. The stability of the region has become one of the central concerns of our partnership,” PM Modi said. He further said, “We share a vision of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, connected by secure seas, defined by international law, free from domination, and anchored in ASEAN centrality. A region where all nations, small and large, are free and fearless in their choices, where progress is not suffocated by impossible burdens of debt, where connectivity is not leveraged for strategic purposes, where all nations are lifted by the high tide of shared prosperity.” “Our vision does not seek to contain or exclude, but to build a cooperative region of peace and prosperity. We work through regional institutions and with our partners from within the region and beyond. Of this, Quad has emerged as a major force of good for the region,” PM Modi added. The Prime Minister further said Indo-Pacific region had featured prominently in the bilateral talks between him and Biden. Both the leaders mentioned the initiatives being taken in the zone, including the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness, through which the Quad partners are providing maritime domain data across the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific region. PM Modi’s state visit to the US has been attributed in some quarters to the rise of China and its growing clout in the Indo-Pacific region, but the White House has rejected this as speculation. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .