New Delhi/Washington, Oct 19 (UNI) The major policy announcement by the Trump Administration in which it has described India as US's 'reliable partner' at the world stage in a period of uncertainty, while chiding China's 'provocative action', is being seen by veteran diplomats here as a reflection of increasing convergence of interest between the two countries in the Asia pacific. Both countries were seeking to ensure a sustainable balance in Asia not dominated by any one country, and there was now a better understanding of India's role and position in the region, former Indian Ambassador to the US Meera Shankar, veteran diplomat G Parthasarty and former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal said talking to UNI in reaction to Wednesday's speech by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at a Washington think tank. 'It was an unexpectedly good speech, first by the Trump Administration. The US President had made some positive noises about India when he spelt out his Afghanistan policy, but this is more comprehensive,' Mr Sibal said. "China's provocative actions in the South China Sea directly challenge the international law and norms that the US and India both stand for," Mr Tillerson had said in an address to Centre for Strategic and International Studies on the topic of 'Defining Our Relationship with India for the Next Century, ahead of his first visit to India. "China, while rising alongside India, has done so less responsibly, at times undermining the international, rules-based order -- even as countries like India operate within a framework that protects other nations' sovereignty," Mr Tillerson said. Both Ms Shankar and Mr Parthasarthy see these statements in continuation of the deepening strategic partnership between the two countries. 'Mr Tillerson's speech is a reflection of the growing convergence between the two nations in the Asia-Pacific,' Ms Shankar said. Mr Parthasarthy, who has just returned from the US, said there was a great appreciation by the American people of the way India peacefully handled the Doklam crisis. He said the US had also better understanding of India with regard to Pakistan. 'Though, there might be some words of praise for the neighbour over the rescue of American nationals, there were still deep misgivings regrading the role of Pakistan in sponsoring terror in Afghanistan and India. Ms Meera Shankar also said that if Pakistan cooperates with the US, it will benefit, but if it did not, there was greater willingness in the Trump Administration to apply pressure over the country. Mr Tillerson, in his yesterday's speech also said his country was seeking constructive relations with China, but 'we won't shrink from China's challenges to the rules-based order, or where China subverts the sovereignty of neighbouring countries, and disadvantages the US and our friends." "And the very international order that has benefited India's rise-and that of many others-is increasingly under strain," he said. "It is indeed time to double down on a democratic partner that is still rising - and rising responsibly - for the next 100 years," he said. "But above all, the world -- and the Indo-Pacific in particular -- needs the US and India to have a strong partnership. India and the US must, as the Indian saying goes, 'do the needful'," he said. "The world's center of gravity is shifting to the heart of the Indo-Pacific. The US and India - with our shared goals of peace, security, freedom of navigation, and a free and open architecture - must serve as the eastern and western beacons of the Indo-Pacific," he said. UNI NAZ SNU 1217