‘Indo-Pacific concept initiated to disrupt existing structure’
   Date :16-Jan-2020
Indo Pacific concept init
 PM Narendra Modi shakes hands with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday. (PTI)
 
NEW DELHI :
 
HITTING out at the US over the concept of the Indo-Pacific, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday said that it was initiated to disrupt the existing structure and contain China. Addressing the gathering at the Raisina Dialogue, he also said that an equitable democratic order should not be influenced by use of brutal force. Lavrov also backed India and Brazil to be permanent members of the UN Security Council.
 
The new Indo-Pacific concept being pushed by the US, Japan and others is an attempt to reconfigure the existing structure, he said. “Why do you need to call Asian Pacific as Indo-Pacific? The answer is evident — to exclude China. Terminology should be unifying, not divisive. Neither SCO nor BRICS is exclusionary,” Lavrov said.
 
“When we asked the initiators how Indo-Pacific is different from Asia Pacific, we were told it is more democratic. We don’t think so. It is rather tricky,” he said. The Indo-Pacific has been a focus area of India’s foreign policy and it pushing for the peace and stability of the region.