The Shangri-La Dialogue is considered Asia???s most prestigious inter-governmental conference on defence and strategic affairs. On Friday in his keynote address at the conference, the first by an Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi laid out the fundamentals of India???s role in the Indo-Pacific while also elaborating on its relationship with China in an important and helpful way.
Two days after the US renamed its Pacific Command as the Indo-Pacific Command, in a move seen as bolstering India???s strategic influence in the region as a counterweight to China???s expansiveness, underlining the goal of ???a region open to investment and free, fair and reciprocal trade, not bound by any nation???s predatory economics or threat of coercion, for the Indo-Pacific has many belts and many roads,??? Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke along similar lines, arguing for a common rules-based order with ???equality of all nations, irrespective of size and strength.???
He said that the connectivity initiatives in the region ???must be based on respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity???. ???We must not only build infrastructure, we must also build bridges of trust.??? But while China baiters would like to focus exclusively on how subtly confrontational messages were being sent to it, the prime minister also clearly stated that, ???Asia and the world will have a better future when India and China work together ??? sensitive to each other???s interests.??? He underlined, ???Our cooperation is expanding.???
That???s not about glossing over the 73-day Doklam standoff last year but about how both countries are working this year to reduce the odds of repeating it or a worse avatar. And about how they must, in both people???s interests.
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