Though the India-US 2+2 talks were held under the shadow of the worsening Ukraine situation, New Delhi and Washington discussed elaborately and comprehensively China’s aggression in the Indo-Pacific and other strategic issues related to the region. “In the 4th round of 2+2 dialogue between India and the US in Washington on Monday, which was first under the US President Joe Biden, External Affairs Ministers S. Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh spent a good amount of time discussing with their American counterparts the Indo-Pacific issues including China’s belligerence and terrorism from Pakistan and Afghanistan,” highly-placed diplomatic sources told The Daily Guardian.
“The soaring Chinese military might and its debt trap diplomacy through Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and other means were some of the key issues that were discussed at length between the four ministers,” sources said. The Ministerial dialogue also focused on the terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Afghanistan, underlining the need for Islamabad to take irreversible and credible action against terrorists on the territories under its control,” foreign ministry officials said.
The Ukraine situation, which has resulted in differences between India and the US, was also discussed during the 2+2 Dialogue.
The ministers of two nations discussed humanitarian issues and some broader implications including the economic one. But there were no observations from the US ministers that could be suggestive of the Biden administration’s attempt to pressure India into condemning Russia, says a top official.
In fact, just hours ahead of the 2+2 dialogue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a virtual meeting with the US President Joe Biden had set the agenda and tone for the ministerial interactions particularly in terms of the Ukraine crisis. PM Modi had called for an immediate end of violence and peaceful resolution of the problems between Russia and Ukraine. He also focused on humanitarian issues and explained India’s contributions to efforts to mitigate the human sufferings. He had also reminded Biden that India condemned the genocide at Bucha. Sources said, “The Ministerial talks remained confined to the line which was set by PM Modi.” The Joint Statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs after the 2+2 talks confirms it as well. The statement says, “The Ministers reviewed mutual efforts to respond to the worsening humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and assessed its broader implications. They urged an immediate cessation of hostilities. The Ministers unequivocally condemned civilian deaths. They underscored that the contemporary global order has been built on the UN Charter, respect for international law, and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states.”
The “broader implications” of the Ukraine crisis included the issue of India buying Russian equipment and oil. This also came up under discussion, sources said. Indian ministers made it clear that New Delhi has diversified its purchases and welcomed American companies to invest in India, sources added. While on the Russian oil purchase, Jaishankar said, “We buy some energy necessary for our energy security. But I suspect, looking at figures, our purchases for the month would be less than what Europe does in an afternoon.
Sourced told this newspaper that the US ministers during the 2+2 talks and Blinken in a separate meeting with Jaishankar did not go too far in discussions vis-à-vis India’s purchases from Russia. India and the US discussed the ways on how to ramp up cooperation so as to deal effectively with terrorism and the Indo-Pacific challenges resulting from China’s aggressive behaviour. Ahead of the talks, US Defence Secretary Llyod Austin had said while welcoming Defence Minister Rajnath Singh that across the region, “the People’s Republic of China is attempting to challenge and undermine the sovereignty of its neighbors”. “Beijing is eroding the security of the Indo-Pacific region from its construction of dual-use infrastructure along your border to its unlawful claims in the South China Sea, and we will continue to stand alongside you as you defend your sovereign interest,” he had said. What Austin said just before the 2+2 talks was exactly in accordance with the strategy chalked out by Jaishankar. According to sources, the EAM went to Washington fully prepared to keep focus of 2+2 Dialogue on the Indo-Pacific in the context of Beijing’s belligerence.
After the talks, Rajnath Singh hinted at what India’s strategy was all about, when he said both India and the US shared a common vision of a free, open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region. “Our partnership is of critical importance for peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and the Indian Ocean Region. During the meeting, we shared our assessments of the situation in our neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean Region. The use of terrorism as an instrument of statecraft against India came up prominently,” Singh said at the joint press conference after the meeting.
He also noted that increased bilateral cooperation between India and the US will be critical to maintain peace and security, and to ensure free access to global commons. The Defence Minister said that extensive engagement between India and the US has yielded important results. Some of these include the signing of a Space Situational Awareness Agreement between the India’s Department of Space and the US Department of Defence (on the sidelines of the 2+2 talks), the commencing of the defence space and defence artificial intelligence dialogues in near future, significant progress on other initiatives and agreements under discussion, and a shared desire to increase the scope and complexity of our military exercises, he said.
The joint statement said the ministers welcomed the progress made in the past year on developing a positive and constructive agenda for the Quad to deliver peace and prosperity to the region in pursuance of their shared vision for a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific.
CLEAR MESSAGE TO PAKISTAN
The Ministers strongly condemned any use of terrorist proxies and cross-border terrorism in all its forms and called for the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai attack, and Pathankot attack, to be brought to justice. They called for concerted action against all terrorist groups, including groups proscribed by the UNSC 1267 Sanctions Committee, such as al-Qaida, ISIS/Daesh, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), and Hizb ul Mujahideen. The Ministers called on Pakistan to take immediate, sustained, and irreversible action to ensure that no territory under its control is used for terrorist attacks. The US and India called on Pakistan to take measures that are immediate, irreversible and sustained to ensure that no area in its hold is used for terrorist attacks.
In a clear reference to China and its activities in the Indo-Pacific region, both the sides reaffirmed their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific in which the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states are respected, and countries are free from military, economic, and political coercion. They further reaffirmed their dedication to promoting regional stability and prosperity, with an inclusive regional architecture, abiding by the rule of law, the freedom of navigation and overflight, peaceful resolution of disputes, and ASEAN centrality. They also reiterated the importance of adherence to international law to meet challenges to the rules-based order, including in the South China Sea. The 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue also addressed India’s concerns on Taliban and Afghanistan under its rule. “The Ministers called on the Taliban to abide by UNSC Resolution 2593 (2021), which demands that Afghan territory must never again be used to threaten or attack any country or to shelter or train terrorists, or to plan or finance terrorist attacks.”
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh urged American companies to come and invest in India and support the ‘Make in India’ programme. Significantly, Jaishankar and Blinken held discussions on several issues including the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the Afghanistan situation, challenges pertaining to the Indo-Pacific region, and a range of key bilateral issues. Earlier, speaking at the Ministerial Dialogue, Jaishankar said, “There is no domain in which India and the US are not cooperating and the nature of our opportunities and challenges are such that they are more effectively addressed through a cross-cutting dialogue”. He said that the 2+2 Dialogue is aimed to promote a more integrated approach to their partnership and this is becoming increasingly relevant as the scope and intensity of their engagement steadily increase. Jaishankar said, “A good part of my meeting with Secretary Blinken in the morning went to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine that has many ramifications. Even countries far away are worried about food security, energy security and commodities prices and logistics disruption.” “When there is a mutual appreciation of ties, there is also a desire to better understand each other’s thinking. Our dialogue today has helped in that regard,” he added. He termed the “report card” of the India-US bilateral ties impressive. On the issue of economic ties, Jaishankar said both trade and investment are steadily growing. In a changing world, Jaishankar said the India-US ties have not only kept pace but emerged as major contributors to major peace, stability and prosperity. The minister also informed that challenges in the Indo-Pacific have been of particular focus in the discussions. “We appreciate the attention and energy devoted by the US to the Quad. Its elevation and intensification benefit the entire Indo-Pacific.”
“We continue to urge all countries to avoid major new transactions for Russian weapons systems, particularly in light of what Russia is doing to Ukraine,” Blinken said when asked whether Washington is considering imposing sanctions on India over procuring S-400 air defence systems. “We have not yet made a determination regarding potential sanctions or potential waivers under the CAATSA law.” He recognised that there is a long history and long relationship between India and Russia in the trade of military equipment.
“That relationship took hold at a time when we were not able and willing to be a partner to India. Now we are both able and willing to be such a partner—to be the security partner of choice for India.” The Pentagon in a statement said, “Defence and foreign ministers of the two countries forged new and deeper cooperation across the breadth of the US-India partnership, including defence, science and technology, trade, climate, public health, and people-to-people ties.”
(WITH INPUTS FROM BADAR BASHIR)