India most consequential ally in Indo-Pacific: US

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 21

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are planning to visit New Delhi next week for the India-US two-plus-two meeting of Foreign and Defence Ministers. They will meet their counterparts Rajnath Singh and S Jaishankar during the visit.

The announcement was made by Esper at a US think tank on Tuesday.

“India will be the most consequential partner for us in the Indo-Pacific for sure. It’s the world’s largest democracy, a very capable country with very talented people… they face off Chinese aggression in the Himalayas every day,” Esper said, speaking about the purpose of his visit.

With India’s acquiescence after its standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) while China refuses to relent, the US has put its South Asia strategy in high gear. It began with the US signing a defence framework with Maldives, followed by a top US diplomat visiting India and Bangladesh. After the two-plus-two dialogue in New Delhi, Pompeo will travel to Sri Lanka to mend fences, followed by a stopover at Maldives. Esper said his visit was part of a broader US initiative to strengthen older alliances and develop new ones against Russian and Chinese efforts to build their own global power network.

Esper said the two-plus-two meet would reflect the need for close collaboration in the Indo-Pacific region, where China is building its presence. “These efforts will strengthen what may become one of the most consequential partnerships of the 21st century,” he said.

In high gear

• With India’s acquiescence after its standoff along the LAC while China refuses to relent, the US has put its South Asia strategy in high gear.
• It began with the US signing a defence framework with Maldives, followed by a top US diplomat visiting India and Bangladesh.