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US eyes NATO-type alliance with India to counter China

Trump Administration plans closer defence ties with Indo-Pacific region nations like India, Japan and Australia.

With China continuing to its expansionist agenda wherever it can, the United States (US) has come up with a plan to counter the Dragon much more vigorously than before. The Trump Administration has a plan to put in place much closer defence ties with countries of the IndoPacific region such as India, Japan and Australia.

In fact, the US wants to form an alliance like North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) with these nations whose key objective will be to counter Beijing apart from working together for key strategic goals.

US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Beigun shared the Trump Administration’s plan to form this alliance while speaking with former US ambassador to India, Richard Verma, in an online discussion organised by the US-India Strategic Partnership forum.

 Sources told The Daily Guardian that this issue will also be on the agenda during 2+2 India-US talks scheduled to take place in September. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be holding interactions with their US counterparts. Sources say that this meeting will focus on Chinese aggression along the LAC and South China Sea, with India and the US likely to sign a big pact to enhance intelligence sharing and strengthen strategic partnership all the more. India and the US are also keeping a close eye over closer ties between China and Pakistan. The NATO type grouping with India being in it will also be a setback to Pakistan, MEA officials believe.

With Trump administration’s key minister disclosing the US plan to formalise a NATO-like alliance with India, Japan and Australia, this issue will be discussed threadbare in the upcoming meeting of top leaderships of foreign and defence ministries.

With China continuing to create problems along de facto borders with India in Ladakh, New Delhi has been reaching out to several countries to expose Beijing’s misdeeds. Australia and Japan have been on the top of the list of the nations which Indian diplomats have been interacting with. Sources say that a top-level meeting on Tuesday at the PMO also discussed Washington’s plan of having a NATO-like body with key nations in the Indo-Pacific region. The meeting which was attended by NSA Ajit Doval discussed China’s PLA troops’ behaviour along the LAC in great details, sources said.

US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Beigun’s statement regarding Washington’s plan to form a significant grouping has come at a time when China is refusing to deescalate along the LAC in Ladakh. Such a move at this juncture can increase pressure on Beijing, an official said. Meanwhile, Stephen Beigun in a clear message to Beijing said, “Washington’s aim is to get the grouping of four countries and others in the region to work together as a bulwark against a potential challenge from China, and to create a critical mass around the shared values and interests of those parties in a manner that attracts more countries in the Indo-Pacific and even from around the world … ultimately to align in a more structured manner.”

“The Indo-Pacific region is actually lacking in strong multilateral structures. They do not have anything of the fortitude of NATO or the European Union. The strongest institutions in Asia oftentimes are not, I think, not inclusive enough and so … there is certainly an invitation there at some point to formalise a structure like this,” Biegun said.

 “Remember, even NATO started with relatively modest expectations and a number of countries (initially) chose neutrality over NATO membership,” he added. The US official informed that the grouping of four countries is expected to have its meeting in New Delhi this autumn.

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