India does not see the Indo-Pacific region as a strategy or an exclusive club, said an official of the Ministry of External Affairs on Friday. The statement from Anurag Srivastava, Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, was a response to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s comments that described the Indo-Pacific and the Quadrilateral as “anti-China” strategy.
“India does not see the Indo-Pacific region as a strategy or as a club of limited members or as a grouping that seeks to dominate. It is not directed against any country. It stands for a free, open and inclusive region,” Mr. Srivastava said, emphasising that India’s foreign policy has “always” been “independent”.
“India’s relationship with each country is independent of its relations with third countries,” said Mr. Srivastava.
Russian Foreign Minister Mr. Lavrov had said on Tuesday that the Western block is pushing India to play a prominent role in the Indo-Pacific and Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, which he described as “anti-China”. Mr. Srivastava said India’s independent and national interest-oriented foreign policy was “unequivocally outlined” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his speech at the Shangri La dialogue in June 2018.
“We hope that this is well understood and appreciated by all our partners,” said Mr. Srivastava, emphasising India’s independent foreign policy. He said that India had taken note of the comments that were made by the Russian Minister at the general meeting of the Russian International Affairs Council on December 8, 2020.
