US, India growing cooperation vital to free, open Indian-Pacific region: State Dept

Underlining that the scope of India and the United States partnership continues to expand, US State Department on Wednesday (local time) said that Washington's growing security and diplomatic cooperation with New Delhi is vital to a free, open, and inclusive Indian-Pacific region.

"The pace and scope of the #USIndia partnership continues to expand! Whether it's at @UN or with Quad partners, our growing security and diplomatic cooperation with India is vital to a free, open, and inclusive #IndoPacific," tweeted State Department for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA).

Indian-Pacific region is largely viewed as an area comprising the Indian Ocean and the western and central Pacific Ocean, including the South China Sea.

China's territorial claims in the South China Sea and its efforts to advance into the Indian Ocean are seen to have challenged the established rules-based system.

Amid China's growing assertiveness in the Indian-Pacific region, foreign ministers of Quad-- India, Japan, the US and Australia--are planning to hold a meeting in Tokyo next month.

The officials are likely to affirm their countries' cooperation to realise the "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" vision upheld by Japan and the United States.

Beijing rising assertiveness against counter claimants in East and South Sea has resulted in unprecedented agreement across the Indian-Pacific.

According to the Nikkei Asian Review, several concerned nations are already deepening security ties with each other and the US to mitigate the threat.

( With inputs from ANI )