NEW DELHI

Only countries with mindsets "built around spheres of influence" and who are "uncomfortable" with democratic ideas will oppose the concept of a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific, India's external affairs minister S Jaishankar said Thursday, indirectly mocking China while emphasising "ASEAN centrality" within the strategic construct.

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During a lecture on 'India's Vision of the Indo-Pacific' at Bangkok's prestigious Chulalongkorn University, Jaishankar also stated that the Quad, which includes the United States, India, Japan, and Australia, is the most prominent plurilateral platform that addresses contemporary challenges and opportunities in the Indo-Pacific.

"This is about recognising the realities of globalisation and the consequences of rebalancing. Only those whose mindsets are built around spheres of influence and uncomfortable with the democratisation of world affairs will dispute the Indo-Pacific today," he said.

"We envisage a free, open, inclusive, peaceful, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region built on a rules-based international order, sustainable and transparent infrastructure investment, freedom of navigation and overflight, unimpeded lawful commerce, mutual respect for sovereignty, peaceful resolution of disputes, as well as equality of all nations," the minister said.

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Jaishankar is currently in Thailand for a two-day visit for the 9th Meeting of the India-Thailand Joint Commission (JCM).

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India's interests now lie to the east, beyond the Indian Ocean and into the Pacific, and that "a more collaborative outlook that transcends the orthodoxy of earlier theatres is the need of the day," he added.

During his visit, Jaishankar met his Thai counterpart and deputy prime minister, Don Pramudwinai. He also spoke to Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Wednesday.

He also sought to advance the long-delayed India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway, which he emphasised during his recent visit to Cambodia, as New Delhi plans to extend the highway all the way to Phnom Penh.

The trilateral highway, which is currently experiencing significant delays, will connect Moreh in Manipur to Mae Sot in Thailand via Bagan in Myanmar.

(With inputs from agencies)

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