Biden and Modi talk climate and trade ties
LEADERS DISCUSS QUAD STRATEGY AND MYANMAR IN FIRST TELEPHONE CALL
PRESIDENT Joe Biden signalled he would seek to deepen the close US relationship with India in his first talks with prime minister Narendra Modi as he added climate change and “democratic” values to the agenda.
Both leaders also agreed to strengthen Indo-Pacific security through the Quad grouping of countries that is seen as a way to push back against China’s growing assertiveness in the region.
India, the US, Japan and Australia are members of the Quad, an informal group that Washington has been promoting to work as a potential bulwark against China’s increasing political, commercial and military activity in the Indo-Pacific, diplomats say.
“The leaders agreed to continuing close cooperation to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific, including support for freedom of navigation, territorial integrity, and a stronger regional architecture through the Quad,” the White House said in a statement.
Following the call, Modi said on Twitter, “President Biden & I are committed to a rules-based order. We look forward to consolidating our strategic partnership to further peace & security in Indo-Pacific region and beyond.”
China has denounced the Quad as an attempt to contain its development and urged the US to drop its “Cold War mentality”.
Last year, the four countries held joint naval exercises in the Bay of Bengal after New Delhi dropped its hesitation for fear of antagonising Beijing.
Modi told Biden he would work to elevate the strategic partnership between the two countries, the Indian foreign ministry said in its readout of the call.
India is locked in a military stand-off with China over their disputed mountainous border since April. Public opinion has hardened against Beijing after soldiers were killed in a clash there.
Japan’s Sankei newspaper reported over the weekend that the leaders of the US, Japan, India, and Australia plan to hold a summit, in a further tightening of ties between the four democracies.
Biden’s telephone call marked a continuation of the upbeat tone of his predecessor Donald Trump, who paid a state visit to India a year ago on his last foreign trip as his administration saw a partner in its tough stance on China.
But Biden also raised climate change, which he has elevated to a top priority amid the planet’s rapidly warming temperatures.
Biden and Modi committed to “work closely together to win the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, renew their partnership on climate change, rebuild the global economy in a way that benefits the people of both countries and stand together against the scourge of global terrorism,” the White House said in a statement.
In New Delhi, the prime minister’s office said Modi welcomed Biden’s raising of climate ambitions and rejoining of the Paris accord, from which former president Trump withdrew.
It said Modi looked forward to participating in a climate summit that Biden plans to call in April.
India is the third largest emitter of carbon dioxide responsible for climate change after China and the US. It has argued that it is unfair for it to be held to the same rules as developed nations.
The White House said Biden “underscored his desire to defend democratic institutions and norms around the world and noted that a shared commitment to democratic values is the bedrock for the US-India relationship.”
India, in recent days, has drawn additional scrutiny from prominent figures including pop superstar Rihanna and climate activist Greta Thunberg over internet blackouts around New Delhi, where protesting farmers have been camped out for more than two months. The White House added that Biden also spoke to Modi about how the “rule of law and the democratic process must be upheld in Burma (Myanmar),” where the military retook power a week ago. India has a close relationship with Myanmar, maintaining contact with its military even as Western nations shun it on human rights grounds.
India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar, defence minister Rajnath Singh and national security adviser Ajit Doval have spoken to their US counterparts – secretary of state Anthony Blinken, defence secretary Lloyd Austin and NSA Jake Sullivan, respectively.