US-Japan's ASEAN 'outreach' augurs well for India's plan to counter China

Washington takes Delhi's inputs on Indo-Pacific and Beijing's activities ahead of meeting between US President and Japanese PM. In what augurs well for India's plan to counter China, US President Joe Biden, and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio have vowed to deepen cooperation with ASEAN countries as part of their strategy to push back against China's belligerence in the Indo-Pacific and other sea regions. "It's also a welcome development that the two leaders have decided to deepen ties and cooperation with India in their joint plan aimed at realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific region," highly-placed diplomatic sources told The…