India’s relentless efforts to form an alliance with Russia for the Indo-Pacific initiative, seem to be finally gaining some ground with the 2 countries conversing about the possibility of a trilateral track 2 with Japan.
India mentions that the Indo-Pacific is a transparent and inclusive theory with ASEAN in the middle and that it excludes nobody. The government found it compulsory to convince Russia, an integral partner, that some of its doubts about the india-japan trilateral mechanism with the Russian deputy foreign minister, Igor Morgulov, on August 4.
As TOI reports, the proposal seems to be at the grassroots level, yet according to authorities here, it will include practical aspects of shaking hands together for joint investment and development of projects. The proposal cropped up initially during the visit of PM Narendra Modi and his Japan counterpart Shinzo Abe to the Russian Far East last year.
India is braving all odds to extensively work on connectivity and other projects with Japan in the Indo-Pacific region, including in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and also in Africa. The 2 countries have also held discussions for establishing a Platform for Japan-India Business Cooperation in Asia-Africa Region to further intensify exchanges between Japanese and Indian businesses “toward developing industrial corridors and industrial network in the region.”
On 2019, Modi became the first Indian PM to pay a visit to the Russian Far East last year. After the summit with President Vladimir Putin the Vladivostok jointly mentioned that India agreed to “intensify consultations on complementarities between integration and development initiatives in greater Eurasian space and initiatives in Greater Eurasian space and in the regions of Indian and Pacific Oceans.”
India, moreover, laid stress before the Russians that Indo-Pacific is a comprehensive notion with ASEAN right at its heart. India believes that including Russia in the initiative can help in highlighting the inclusive nature of the exercise and also assist in enhancing bilateral cooperation further.
Indian ambassador to Russia D B Venkatesh Verma recently made a statement saying that India would be elated to involve Russia in the Indo-Pacific.
“India and Russia share common interest that the Indo-Pacific region becomes a region of peace, stability and economic prosperity, so that no country seeks unilateral advantage at the cost of the entire region.” he said in Moscow.