Trump admn proposes $1.5 billion fund to ensure Indo-Pacific is free of 'malign Chinese influence'

The Trump administration has proposed USD 1.5 billion in budgetary allocation for 2021 fiscal for the strategic Indo-Pacific, which it said was part of its efforts to ensure that the region remains free, open, and independent of "malign Chinese influence".

China has been trying to spread its influence in the resource-rich Indo-Pacific region. To counter Beijing, the US has been pushing for a broader role by India in the strategically important region.

Beijing lays claim to huge swathes of the sea in the South China Sea where it has set up military facilities and artificial islands.

The US has long accused China of bullying Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei who have contesting claims over the South China Sea.

The White House in its budgetary proposal for the financial year 2021, beginning October 1, 2020, said, the future of the Indo-Pacific, which contains roughly half the world's population and many of the fastest-growing economies, is critical to US security and long-term economic interests."