India and America will launch a new initiative for clean energy to fuel economic growth in the strategically-important Indo-Pacific region where China has been trying to expand its sphere of influence, the US State Department has said.

The US has been pushing for a broader role by India in the Indo-Pacific region in the backdrop of China’s rising military maneuvering in the region. China has been trying to expand its military presence in the  biogeographic region, comprising the Indian Ocean and the western and central Pacific Ocean, including the South China Sea.

Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims over the sea.

Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Francis R Fannon is travelling to India from September 30 to October 6 to launch the Flexible Resources Initiative (FRI, “free”), under the US-India Clean Energy Finance Task Force, an official statement said on Tuesday.

“FRI will execute the United States and India’s shared vision for Indo-Pacific economic growth fuelled by clean energy,” the State Department said.

The FRI is also a component of the broader US-led Asia EDGE (Enhancing Development and Growth through Energy) Initiative, which is a whole-of-government effort to grow sustainable and secure energy markets throughout the Indo-Pacific, it said.

Fannon will co-lead efforts, along with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, as well as partners from US Department of Energy and the US Agency.

India’s Ministry of Power will host, along with the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, the Indian Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, and the Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board, the statement said.