India welcomes Rex Tillerson''s statements on Indo-US relations

Smita Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, October 20

India welcomed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s statements on defining India-US relations for the next century on Friday, even as China criticised it sharply. 

“Secretary Tillerson has made a significant policy statement on India-US relations and its future.  He brought out its various strengths and highlighted our shared commitment to a rule-based international order.  We appreciate his positive evaluation of the relationship and share his optimism about its future directions,” Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said.  

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In a speech in DC on Wednesday, Tillerson had advocated an open and fair Indo-Pacific policy effectively calling for the two countries to forge an alternate financial mechanism to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.   

In a sharp message to Beijing, Tillerson had underlined the role of India and the US to ensure the Indo-Pacific did not become “a region of disorder, conflict and predatory economics” and countries in the region did not fall into a sovereign debt trap.

His message was delivered just days before he embarked upon his first official visit to South Asia.

The State Department officially announced today that Tillerson would travel to Riyadh, Doha, Islamabad, New Delhi, and Geneva from October 20–27. 

‘In New Delhi, Secretary Tillerson will meet with senior Indian leaders to discuss further strengthening our strategic partnership and collaboration on security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region,’ said the State Department release.  

The remarks though had not gone down well along expected lines with China busy with the 19th Communist Party Congress.

 Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang on Thursday hit back and said: “We hope the US can put China's development and China's positive role in the world into perspective, abandon its biased views of China and make concerted efforts with China to focus on cooperation, properly handle differences and maintain the momentum of the steady growth of China-US relations". 

Asked if Tillerson’s speech meant US was looking for an alternative strategic partner to counter a rising China, a senior State Department official said: “We have also talked with the Australians, and we envision a quadrilateral sort of — an anchoring — the Indo-Pacific anchored by these four countries of Australia, the United States, India, and Japan.”

During his official travel Tillerson will attend the inaugural Coordination Council meeting between Saudi Arabia and Iraq in Riyadh and discuss the Yemen and Gulf conflict as well as Iran.While in Doha he will meet with Qatari leaders and US military officials to discuss joint counterterrorism effort

In a back to re-hyphenation policy, Tillerson will stop over in Islamabad and “meet with senior Pakistani leaders to discuss our continued strong bilateral cooperation, Pakistan’s critical role in the success of our South Asia strategy” added the US government release. 

“Our relations with India do not come at the expense of Pakistan and vice-versa,” underlined the senior State Department official.