India joins US-led Indo-Pacific economic bloc aimed at countering China

On issues such as digital commerce, labour, and environmental standards, India and the US have contrasting views

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday formalised India’s entry into the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), along with 12 other countries, including the US, to strengthen economic cooperation as a geostrategic counter to China’s growing clout in the region.

The other countries that joined the IPEF ahead of the QUAD leaders’ summit in Tokyo are Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

But the Biden administration that conceptualised the IPEF diluted the language of the joint statement to allow more countries to participate in the initiative. The joint statement does not call for launching