India on Friday welcomed US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's comments that Washington would rather work with New Delhi than Beijing over the next century, saying it shared his optimism about their burgeoning relationship. Speaking ahead of a visit to India next week, Tillerson called Wednesday for deeper cooperation with India in the face of growing Chinese influence in Asia and said Washington wanted to promote a "free and open" region led by prosperous democracies.
President Donald Trump's top diplomat also said Beijing sometimes acted outside international conventions, citing the South China Sea dispute as an example. India welcomed the comments, saying they "highlighted our shared commitment to a rule-based international order", the Indian foreign ministry said in a statement.