Increasing tension between China and Taiwan following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei, situation in Sri Lanka and developments in Myanmar figured prominently during talks between External Affairs S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday.
The parleys between the two leaders took place on the sidelines of the ongoing Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) conclave in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. They also discussed other global challenges, it was learnt.
"A warm conversation to start meetings on sidelines of ASEAN Ministerial in Phnom Penh. Discussed the ever strengthening India-US relationship and the global situation with US Secretary of State @SecBlinken," Jaishankar tweeted. In his opening remarks at the meeting, Blinken said the US and India are strong proponents of the ASEAN centrality in the Indo-Pacific, according to the US State Department. "We're both strong proponents of ASEAN centrality.
We have a shared vision together for a free and open Indo-Pacific that we work on in so many different ways every single day," he said.
"And of course, we have some immediate challenges that we're both concerned with, to include the situation in Sri Lanka, Burma, and a number of other hot spots," he said.
"So I very much look forward to once again being able to go through a number of these issues with my friend, and then we'll both head over to our meetings," Blinken added.
Jaishankar also said India and the 10-nation grouping ASEAN have "strong convergence" on Indo-Pacific, combating the threat of terrorism and the developments in Ukraine and Myanmar.
He said India and the ASEAN also have similar views on connectivity projects, dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and issues relating to cyber security. "A productive ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers' Meeting at Phnom Penh. Thank Singapore FM @VivianBala and ASEAN colleagues for a good discussion. Strong convergence on Indo-Pacific, UNCLOS, Connectivity, Covid-19, Terrorism, Cyber Security, Ukraine and Myanmar," Jaishankar tweeted.
The India-ASEAN foreign ministers' dialogue focused on overall developments in the Indo-Pacific region and ways to further expand ties against the backdrop of geopolitical developments, including the crisis in Ukraine.
The foreign ministers also discussed the situation in the South China Sea, a resource-rich region that has been witnessing increasing Chinese muscle-flexing. In June, India hosted the Special ASEAN-India foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi to mark the 30th anniversary of its relations with the grouping.