Global strategy in focus as India, US discuss ties
WASHINGTON: Ahead of the 2+2 dialogue, defence minister Rajnath Singh and external affairs minister S Jaishankar on Monday met their American counterparts, secretary of defence Lloyd J Austin and secretary of state Antony J Blinken, for separate bilateral discussions with a major focus on the global strategic landscape. Austin, in particular, laid out the challenge from China in the Indo-Pacific, including to India, pledged American support in safeguarding Indian sovereignty and hailed the deepening of the defence cooperation between the two sides.
After welcoming Singh at Pentagon, Austin, in his opening remarks, said that they were meeting at a critical moment in the India-US defence partnership. “Thanks to decades of hard work, we have built the foundation of one of the most important partnerships of this century.” Austin said that the India-US partnership was based on a shared vision of a “free and open Indo-Pacific region, one grounded in principles such as the rule of law and national sovereignty”.
Austin told Singh that they were facing “urgent and mounting challenges to this shared vision”. “Across the region, the People’s Republic of China is attempting to challenge and undermine the sovereignty of its neighbours. Beijing is eroding the security of the Indo-Pacific region from its construction of dual-use infrastructure along your border to its unlawful claims in the South China Sea, and we will continue to stand alongside you as you defend your sovereign interest.”
Claiming that Beijing was not alone in its efforts to undermine the security of its neighbours and to change the status quo by force, Austin referred to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent “humanitarian devastation” as attempts to undermine the international order “grounded in the rules and the principles that we share”. Austin said that India’s leadership, as well as the US-India defence partnership and collaboration with other partners, was “central to this rules-based order”. “We now coordinate alongside each other across the Indo-Pacific region and across domains, which is truly extraordinary, and we are committed to working seamlessly with you across new and emerging domains, including space and cyberspace.”
Singh, in his opening remarks at the bilateral meeting, thanked Austin and recalled how he had chosen India among his first overseas destinations last year. “This meeting and our coming 2+2 dialogue are indeed important landmarks in our bilateral relationship. I am sure that our visit here shall take India-US comprehensive strategic partnership to the next level.”