India against Asean in supply chain trilateral

India has opposed Japan’s suggestion to include the Asean countries in the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI) which seeks to reduce dependence on China and build resilient supply chains in the IndoPacific region.
While Japan is keen to on-board the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean), officials said New Delhi wants to safeguard its interests from China’s indirect influence through the bloc as it builds on its self-reliance through reduced dependence on imports.The SCRI, first proposed by Japan, aims to reduce dependence on China amid a likelihood of rechurning of supply chains in the Indo-Pacific region amid the Covid-19 pandemic.