US has deepened ties with India, says Blinken

Secretary of State says Washington has elevated cooperation with India, Japan and Australia through Quad…reports Asian Lite News

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said the US has deepened its partnership with India. He said the country has elevated cooperation with India, Japan and Australia through the Quad.

“We’ve deepened our partnership with India. We’ve elevated cooperation through the Quad with India, Japan, Australia,” the US State Secretary said in his remarks at an end-of-year press availability on Wednesday (US local time).

The Quad is a diplomatic network between Australia, India, Japan and the US.

According to a press release issued by the US State Department, Blinken said the US’ partnerships in the Indo-Pacific have never been stronger.

He said the US is “working with the United Kingdom and Australia to produce nuclear-powered submarines. We launched new comprehensive strategic partnerships with Vietnam and Indonesia, a new Defense Cooperation Agreement with the Philippines, new trilateral initiatives with the Philippines and Japan, new embassies in the Solomon Islands and Tonga.”

The US State Secretary further said that the US is more closely aligned than ever with the G7, with the EU, and with other allies and partners on the challenges presented by Beijing.

“We’re working together to address them. We’re deepening cooperation and coordination between NATO and our Indo-Pacific allies. These efforts have allowed us to engage more effectively when tackling areas of concern, like China’s coercive trade and economic practises, peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the East and South China Seas, and human rights,” he said.

On the Israel-Hamas conflict, Blinken said the US will continue to focus intensely on its core priorities: “helping Israel ensure that what happened on October 7 can never happen again, bringing the conflict to an end as quickly as possible while minimising the loss of life and the suffering of civilians, getting the remaining hostages back home to their families, preventing the conflict from spreading, and once and for all breaking the devastating cycle of violence and moving towards durable, lasting peace.”

“We continue to believe that Israel does not have to choose between removing the threat of Hamas and minimising the toll on civilians in Gaza. It has an obligation to do both and it has a strategic interest to do both,” he said.

Blinken further said that the US is more determined than ever to ensure that “out of this horrific tragedy comes a moment of possibility for Israelis, for Palestinians, for the region to live in lasting peace and lasting security; that out of this darkness comes light.”

“Realising that possibility will require all parties to make tough choices about the steps that they’re willing to take, including the United States. We will test this proposition with the urgency and creativity that it deserves and that America’s interests demand.”

He said that this is the spirit that has long animated US President Biden in the face of seemingly intractable conflicts.

‘A few incidents will not derail ties’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week broke his silence on the alleged plot to kill Khalistani activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of Sikhs for Justice in New York in an interview to the Financial Times but was confident that “a few incidents” would not derail the India-US partnership.

The US department of justice had on November 29 unsealed the indictment of an Indian, Nikhil Gupta, who is alleged to have been contracted by an Indian government agent to take out Khalistani separatists in North America. While the external affairs ministry has commented on this allegation and the government has set up a high-level probe, the Prime Minister had been silent on the issue till now. Welcoming the probe, the US has repeatedly stressed the need to fix responsibility.

In a report based on the interview, the FT quoted Modi as saying that “if someone gives us any information, we would definitely look into it”. Further, he was quoted as stating that “if a citizen of ours has done anything good or bad, we are ready to look into it. Our commitment is to the rule of law”. The Prime Minister did not specifically make any reference to the US allegation about the involvement of an Indian government agent or official.

As for the impact of this on the bilateral relationship, Modi said: “There is strong bipartisan support for the strengthening of this relationship, which is a clear indicator of a mature and stable partnership. Security and counter-terrorism cooperation has been a key component of our partnership…. I don’t think it is appropriate to link a few incidents with diplomatic relations between the two countries.”

The Prime Minister referred to “incidents” though the allegation by the US only specifically mentions one incident — the plot to murder a Sikh separatist in New York who was separately identified as Pannun. Since Modi also talked about India’s grievance over Khalistani activities in North America, he could be referring to them when he spoke about “a few incidents”.

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