United States Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday lashed out at China over undermining the “security of its neighbours” as he hosted Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at the Pentagon ahead of the 2+2 ministerial dialogue alongside India and US foreign ministers, Dr. S Jaishankar and Antony Blinken respectively. While Singh said that his visit “shall take India-US comprehensive strategic partnership to the next level”, Austin told the Union Defence Minister that the meeting between both the nations comes at a “critical moment” in the defence partnership.
At the beginning of their meeting, Austin told Singh, “Thanks to decades of hard work, we have built the foundation of one of the most important partnerships of this century.” In the readout following the Singh-Austin meet published by the US Department of Defence, both India and the US share the vision for a free and open Indo-pacific. It is pertinent to note here that the said system of Indo-pacific has been a rules-based structure that has served the entire region since its adoption after World War II. However, Austin underscored that China is undermining the sovereignty of its neighbours.
“We’re facing urgent and mounting challenges to this shared vision,” Austin said. “Across the region, the People’s Republic of China is attempting to challenge and undermine the sovereignty of its neighbours.”
He noted that the Chinese are “constructing dual-use infrastructure along its border with India, and Chinese leaders continue to make unlawful claims in the South China Sea. The United States stands with India in defending their sovereign interests.”
“Beijing is not alone in its efforts to undermine the security of its neighbours and to change the status quo by force,” he said. “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the humanitarian devastation that it has created are blatant attempts to undermine the international order that is grounded in the rules and the principles that we share.”
US ‘committed to working seamlessly’ with India
US Defence Secretary said hailed India for being the world’s largest democracy and added that India’s leadership is central to this rules-based order in Indo-Pacific. “So too, is a US-India defence partnership and our collaboration with like-minded partners,” he said. “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.”
It is to note here that 2+2 ministerial dialogue between India and the United States came when the Russia-Ukraine war has already entered day 47. While most of the western countries have moved to decrease dependency on Russian energy imports, India has continued to purchase Russian oil. India has also abstained from voting on resolutions against Russia in the United Nations (UN) sessions. Most recently, just last week, India abstained in a vote to remove Russia from the UN Human Rights Council. (Agencies)
