NEW DELHI: The Indo-Pacific occupied the bulk of the discussions during the 2+2 dialogue here today, indicating the growing importance of this policy in a region where China is beginning to impact Indian and US security considerations.In her remarks, foreign minister Sushma Swaraj said “we noticed a growing convergence of views between our countries on the Indo-Pacific. Our respective approaches towards this concept have been outlined by our leaders --- by President Trump at the APEC meeting last year and by Prime Minister Modi at the Shangri-La Dialogue this summer. We see the Indo-Pacific as a free, open and inclusive concept, with ASEAN centrality at the core and defined by a common rules-based order that both our countries are pursuing.” In response, Pompeo said, “We should continue to ensure the freedom of the seas and the skies; uphold the peaceful resolution of territorial maritime disputes; promote market-based economics; support good governance, fundamental rights, and liberties; and prevent external economic coercion.”The joint statement added that US and India reaffirmed “common principles” for the Indo-Pacific which was defined as “free and open”, “based on recognition of ASEAN centrality and on respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, rule of law, good governance, free and fair trade, and freedom of navigation and overflight. Noting the importance of infrastructure and connectivity for the Indo-Pacific region, both sides emphasized the need to work collectively with other partner countries to support transparent, responsible, and sustainable debt financing practices in infrastructure development.”The Quadrilateral, which was revived in 2017, will continue to meet, but India is resisting raising the level beyond the current operational, or joint secretary level. US, Japan and Australia are pushing for a meeting of the Quad in November, on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit. India is yet to commit.India emphasized during the talks that it would not want to conflate the Quadrilateral and Indo-Pacific -- the reason for this comes from China’s sustained diplomacy with south-east Asian countries which has shown Indo-Pacific to be interchangeable with the Quad. The problem with this has been a regional resistance to Indo-Pacific policies or a “rules-based order” which is seen as US and India-imposed. ASEAN countries have indicated they don’t want to have to choose.So India has proposed that the idea of Indo-Pacific should focus on the centrality of Asean, which should include some sustained diplomacy to explain to the countries of the region that it is not an anti-China, closed club. Therefore, “inclusiveness” and a “rules-based order” would be the reigning mantras of this new policy.