Washington: The US has urged China to embrace the same vision of a "free and open" Indo-Pacific and said it should explain what Beijing does not like about the idea, amidst the PLA flexing its muscles in the region.
The US' vision of a free and open Indo Pacific, which is supported by India, is not so much about countering any particular country, Randall G Schriver, Assistant Secretary of Defence for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs, said on Wednesday.
"We would prefer China embracing the same vision (of a free and open Indo-Pacific)," he added.
China claims almost all of the South China Sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims over the area.
China recently deployed anti-ship cruise missiles and surface-to-surface missile systems in the disputed South China Sea amid frequent forays by US naval and surveillance aircraft over the region to assert the freedom of navigation especially around the artificial islands built by China, where it has also established garrisons.
Schriver said China's behaviour, and the things they have articulated, through their public statements and actions, is demonstrating that they have a different aspiration for the Indo-Pacific region.
"It is manifested in their economic strategy, belt and road initiative, militarisation of the south China sea, a lot of the coercive approaches to the internal politics of others," he said.
"Our preference would be an inclusive strategy that includes China as a constructive participant and regional affairs," Schriver said at an event organised by the think tank, Carnegie Endowment for International Relations (CEIR).
He further said there is an onus on China to explain what it does not like about the idea of an open and free the Indo-Pacific.
"Then you are getting right to the heart of threatening countries' sovereignty and ability to have a free flow of commerce, freedom of navigation," Schriver said
"So, we want to be a partner with India and other countries that are looking how to have alternatives. We don't necessarily counter something like belt and road initiative," the senior Pentagon official said.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis are travelling to India next week for the 2+2 dialogue being hosted by their Indian counterparts Sushma Swaraj and Nirmala Sitharaman.
Operationalisation of the common vision of a free and open Indio-Pacific through a series of initiatives and joint efforts is expected to be a major focal point of the next week's meeting, Schriver said.
"We have talked to India about a coordinating development assistance and looking at how we can be partners in providing that alternative (to Chinese model). Same would go in the military and security areas," he said. "How do we prove ourselves a preferred partner and a more trusted and reliable partner to countries in the Pacific region rather than saying you shouldn't have a relationship with China and, and you shouldn't do these activities with China," the Pentagon official added.
"That's just unrealistic given China's a size, influence and geography...I think China will be a factor in most of what we do going forward," Schriver said.
Eminent US scholar on South Asia, Ashley Tellis of CEIR, while moderating the session noted that India does not want to have a have a relationship that is one of complete alienation with China.
During the two-plus-two dialogue, he said, the two countries will talk about coordination of development assistance and try to find some key areas where individual countries or regions are facing particular challenges and how the two countries can find a common effort.
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