'India, US interests coming together': US naval joint commander backs closer ties in Indo-Pacific

On Wednesday, Admiral Samuel Paparo, Joint Commander of US Indo-Pacific Command sat down with Harsh V. Pant, Vice President of the Observer Research Foundation on Firstpost IdeasPod to discuss the challenges in the Indo-Pacific region preparedness of the US and its allies to deal with these issues In recent years, the Indo-Pacific region has witnessed major turbulence, with different actors contesting who has claims over what. He also mentioned that China’s growth in air missile maritime capability and within their space capability has been “hundredfold,” adding that there has been an increasing presence of Russia’s fleet in the Indo-Pacific region. When asked about China’s assertiveness in the region and how it looks at the idea of Indo-Pacific as a “containment idea”, Admiral Paparo rejected the assertion and questioned the Chinese notion. “You see this in the quad, in our diplomatic programmes and then you also separately see this in our exercise programmes, in our Tiger Triumph programmes, a humanitarian assistance disaster relief, in our maritime programmes, in our security cooperation programmes, even in some of our land exercises together and over the next generation, I think you’ll continue to see that an upward trajectory as India continues to take a leadership role among the market democracies and United States and India will see its relationship enrich,” he concluded.