India to be great power, not simply US ally: White House

New Delhi, December 9

India, which has a unique strategic character, will not just be an ally of the US, but another great power, said White House’s top points-person for the Asia Pacific.

Strong ties

I don’t know of any bilateral relationship that is being deepened and strengthened more rapidly than the United States and India over the last 20 years. Kurt Campbell, White house Asia Coordinator

There is no other bilateral relationship that is being “deepened and strengthened” more rapidly than between the two countries over the past 20 years, he said.

“India has a unique strategic character. It will not be an ally of the US. It has the desire to be an independent, powerful state and it will be another great power. But I think there are reasons to believe that our strategic alignment is growing across the board in almost every arena,” Campbell said while responding to a question on India at a think tank event.

The US needs to invest even more of its capacity, and build in people-to-people ties, working together on technology and other issues. Besides, there are inhibitions in both bureaucracies. “But I do believe that this is a relationship that should have some ambition. We should look at things that we can do together, whether it’s in space, education, climate and technology, and really move in that direction,” he said.

“If you look over the past 20 years and the depth of engagement between our two sides, it’s remarkable,” he observed while maintaining that the relationship was not simply built on anxiety around China.