‘ India needn’t pick between US or China’
Mr Hagel referred to the similarities between India and the US, saying both countries were democracies and “open societies”. In a reference to Prime Minister Modi, he said the “child of a small- town tea- salesman rose to become Prime Minister” in India.
US secretary of defence Chuck Hagel on Saturday said India does not need to choose between its ties with the United States and China and also indicated that Beijing should not be seen as a rival by New Delhi, even as he advocated strengthening of “trilateral” defence cooperation between India, the US and Japan, a US ally. Mr Hagel said the US has made an exclusive offer to India to co- develop and co- produce the next generation of the Javelin anti- tank guided missiles.
On Indo- US strategic ties, he said, “As our interests align, so should our armed forces and defence systems.”
He pointed out that since 2008, India and the US had inked defence deals worth over $ 9 billion. He also referred to the forthcoming meeting between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the United States.
“Just as the US need not choose between its Asian alliances and a constructive relationship with China, India need not choose between a closer partnership with the US and improved ties with China,” Mr Hagel said in an address on Indo- US strategic ties organised by the Observer Research Foundation here.
US secretary of defence Chuck Hagel on Saturday said that the US and India “seek a stable and peaceful order in which China is a fellow- trustee”.
Significantly, he said that the US seeks to protect freedom of navigation in air and sea and referred to American interests in maritime security, “including the global crossroads of the South China Sea”. China is extremely sensitive about its interests in the South China Sea which it sees as its fiefdom. The visiting US dignitary also mentioned the US “pursuing strategic re- balance”, a reference to the US plan to re- balance a large part of its naval fleet to the Asia- Pacific over the next decade.
But, at the same time, he advocated further strengthening of ties between India and Japan.
“As US and Indian security interests continue to converge, so should our partnership with other nations. The US and India should consider expanding our trilateral security cooperation with Japan, building on our combined naval participation in Malabar ( exercise),” the US defence secretary said.
Defence- watchers feel this is significant given the rise in maritime tensions between China and Japan.
Mr Hagel also said “India is strengthening Asia’s regional order” and that India has boosting ties with Japan, Vietnam, Singapore and Australia. Defence experts point out that the naming of these countries is significant, given that Japan and Australia are US allies, Singapore enjoys close ties with the US while Vietnam has a history of tensions and disputes with China that continue to this day.
“For both our nations, the challenge is to seize the opportunities, those opportunities that are before us today. Bureaucratic red tape within our two governments must not limit our partnerships and initiatives,” Mr Hagel said.