Cooperation in Indo-Pacific is in interests of India and Vietnam: Jaishankar

Hanoi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said that the cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region is in the shared interests of India and Vietnam as he underlined the significance of ASEAN centrality and highlighted the contribution of the Quad grouping.

Jaishankar, who arrived in Vietnam on Sunday on a four-day official visit, made the remarks during his address to the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam on “India in the Indo-Pacific”.

'Discussed why cooperating in the Indo-Pacific construct is in our shared interests. Underlined the significance of ASEAN centrality and highlighted the contribution of the Quad,” the minister said in a post on platform X.

“Brought out how India and Vietnam, with their independent mindset, can promote a multipolar and rules-based global order,” he added.

The US, India, Japan and Australia compose the Quad, a four-way grouping. They have been stepping up cooperation in various fields such as defence and energy amid China's increasing military and economic clout in the region.

The Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region, comprising the Indian Ocean and the western and central Pacific Ocean, including the South China Sea.

The US, India and several other world powers have been discussing the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China's rising military manoeuvring in the resource-rich region.

China claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it. Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea. China also has territorial disputes with Japan in the East China Sea.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is considered one of the most influential groupings in the region, and India and several other countries including the US, China, Japan and Australia are its dialogue partners.

The 10 member countries of ASEAN are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.

The ties between India and ASEAN have been on a significant upswing in the last few years with the focus being on boosting cooperation in the areas of trade and investment as well as security and defence.

Earlier in the day, Jaishankar met his Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son and discussed ways to boost cooperation in areas like trade, energy, defence and maritime security while also sharing perspectives on the Indo-Pacific, amidst China's aggressive behaviour in the region.

Jaishankar also attended a meeting of the 18th India-Vietnam Joint Commission in Hanoi on Monday.

From Vietnam, Jaishankar will travel to Singapore for a visit from October 19 to 20.