Trilateral talks between India, France and UAE on cooperation in Indo-Pa

New Delhi: India, France and UAE held discussions on cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. In this discussion, the three countries decided to cooperate on the most critical issues related to the Indo-Pacific region, such as maritime security, regional connectivity projects, energy and food security, and strong supply chains. The Ministry of External Affairs of India gave this information. Although not directly mentioned, it reveals that India and France are activating another trilateral grouping with the UAE because of the threat posed by China’s expansionist activities in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Ministry of External Affairs informed that India, France and UAE would work on many fronts in the Indo-Pacific region within the framework of their trilateral cooperation. This includes a range of things from safety to providing humanitarian assistance in times of disaster. At the same time, to strengthen the ‘Blue Economy’ field related to the maritime sector and the global supply chain, India, France and UAE will establish trilateral cooperation in this field. Earlier, it has been revealed that other countries, wary of China’s moves in the Indo-Pacific region, are also showing interest in establishing cooperation with India.

The QUAD group of India, the US, Japan and Australia has become active against China’s hegemony in the Indo-Pacific region. At the same time, France and Britain also showed interest in this maritime region and established independent cooperation with India. At the same time, there were indications that Japan was also keen to participate in the collaboration between India and France. Although the Biden administration of the United States appears to be making aggressive moves against China, in reality, the Biden administration is not taking decisive steps against China. This criticism is coming from the United States itself.

These policies of the Biden administration have led to China’s unchecked activities in the Indo-Pacific region. This has dramatically increased the potential threat to Taiwan from China. Japan and Australia have taken serious note of it. At the same time, France has stepped up naval cooperation with India because of China’s threat to the security of its islands in the Indian Ocean region. Britain also announced that it would establish independent collaboration with India to protect its interests in the Indo-Pacific region.

In such a situation, India and France, along with UAE, are activating another tripartite grouping in the Indo-Pacific region, which underlines the importance of the Indo-Pacific region. China has started taking systematic steps to dominate the Indian and Pacific oceans. For this, China has increased the strength of its navy to a great extent. China has asserted its authority over the South China Sea, an essential part of the Indo-Pacific region, by intimidating its neighbouring

countries with this strength. Along with this, saying that the Indian Ocean is not India’s back door, China has also planned an ambitious plan to expand its presence in this area.

For this, China is using its economic power to trap small and developing countries in their debt traps. It is no secret that China’s predatory economy is behind the current upheavals in Sri Lanka. Due to this, major countries worldwide have realized that thwarting China’s destructive tactics has become imperative to protect their interests. This is why new groups of countries are emerging in the Indo-Pacific region. It is for this reason that India’s importance has increased tremendously, and European and Asian as well as Southeast Asian countries are looking at India with great expectations as a country capable of stopping China.