Shadow on Indo-Pacific: PM Modi's jibe at China

NT Bureau, Agencies Washington

In a veiled attack on China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the "dark clouds of coercion and confrontation" are casting their shadow on the Indo-Pacific region.

In his address to the Joint Meeting of the US Congress for a second time, Modi said the global order is based on the respect for the principles of the UN Charter, peaceful resolution of disputes, and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"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," he said amidst the prolonged stand-off between the armies of India and China in eastern Ladakh.

The prime minister said a region where all nations, small and large, are free and fearless in their choices, where progress is not suffocated by an impossible burden of debt, where connectivity is not leveraged for strategic purposes, where all nations are lifted by the high tide of shared prosperity. His comments came amidst the economic crisis in countries such as Sri Lanka and Pakistan where China has made huge unviable infrastructure investments.

 "We share a vision of a free, open and inclusive lndo-Pacific, connected by secure seas, defined by international law, free from domination, and anchored in ASEAN centrality," Modi said. "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 partners from within the region and beyond. Of this, QUAD has emerged as a major force," he said.