India joins Indo-Pacific economic bloc led by US to counter China

Moving to provide an economic alternative to China’s strategic footprint in the Indo-Pacific, India and 12 countries led by the US Monday launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) that aims to strengthen economic partnership among participating countries to enhance resilience, sustainability, inclusiveness, economic growth, fairness, and competitiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.

In Tokyo, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sat alongside US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the launch of the IPEF — New Delhi’s participation at the highest level displayed its commitment to join forces to take on Beijing’s growing assertiveness in the region and beyond.

This economic initiative came a day before the summit of the Quad leaders in Tokyo — the second in-person meeting after the summit in Washington DC last September.