Barack Obama, Narendra Modi's joint declaration on South China Sea may irk Bejing

NEW DELHI: Four months after mentioning the situation in South China Sea in a joint statement, India and the US on Sunday released a Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions in a move unlikely to go unnoticed in Beijing.

After their first bilateral meeting last year in September, Barack Obama and Narendra Modi issued a joint statement expressing concern about "rising tensions over maritime territorial disputes" in that region.

The joint strategic vision reaffirmed the same, saying regional prosperity depended on security.

"We affirm the importance of safeguarding maritime security and ensuring freedom of navigation and overflight throughout the region, especially in the South China Sea," it said.

The two countries welcomed the convening of the sixth round of the India-US-Japan trilateral discussions on 20 December 2014 to deepen regional engagement and to discuss ways to implement projects on the ground.

"We call on all parties to avoid the threat or use of force and pursue resolution of territorial and maritime disputes through all peaceful means, in accordance with universally recognized principles of international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea," it added.

The joint statement also said India's Act-East Policy and the US' rebalance to Asia provided opportunities for India, the US, and other Asia-Pacific countries to work closely to strengthen regional ties. Sources said that change of government in Sri Lanka, widely seen as not to China's liking, was one of the factors for the new strategic vision.