US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on Wednesday said that the US and India would compete with China as it threatens rules-based international order. “We will compete with China where we should, cooperate with China where it’s in our interests. We will challenge China where we must—where it undermines interests of ours and our partners and allies or threatens rules-based international order,” Sherman said as China has been increasing its rising military power and assertiveness in the Indo Pacific region. “I think we (US) and India are like-minded in that regard,” added Sherman at the India Ideas Summit in New Delhi.
Underscoring the importance of the bilateral partnership, Wendy Sherman had reiterated that the ties between India and United States are rooted in shared values of the two countries and both are believers in the free, open, and resilient Indo-Pacific region.
“The partnership between India and United States is rooted in our shared values. We are both homes to innovators and entrepreneurs. We are both believers in the free, open, interconnected and resilient Indo-Pacific region,” Sherman had said during a meeting with Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla here.
“And we both know that the best way to preserve peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world is by upholding and strengthening the rules-based international order,” she added.
The two countries are also strengthening cooperation in advanced military technologies, and expanding engagements in a multilateral framework including with regional partners.
She also applauded India’s decision to resume COVID-19 vaccine exports from October.
“We applaud India’s decision to resume vaccine exports. It was really a country that the world depended on. India had come to everybody’s rescue early on and hopefully, we all came to India’s rescue to help them,” said US Deputy Secretary of State.
The two-day 2021 India Ideas Summit began on Wednesday.
According to sources, India has shared its concerns with the US about Pakistan’s involvement in harbouring anti-India terrorist groups in Afghanistan.
Wendy Sherman and Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Wednesday held extensive talks and spent considerable time discussing Afghanistan and Pakistan. “India shared its concerns and perspective on Afghanistan, movement of terrorist groups especially Haqqani network, infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir, the role of Pakistan’s spy agency ISI. What we heard from Americans on Afghanistan it’s helpful. They know what’s happening in Pakistan, they are just engaging, India and US are on the same page,” said sources.
Wendy Sherman will be visiting Pakistan immediately after her India visit. The US is often seen as hyphenating its relations when it comes to India and Pakistan, however, sources familiar with discussions called it misplaced perception. “She is going to Pakistan from here, there is no hyphenation, the US is pretty clear they have a special relationship and partnership with India, this perspective is misplaced” the source added.
2+2 DIALOGUE
The 2+2 dialogue between India and the United States is expected to take place in November and the two countries will hold a meeting of the Defence Policy Group (DPG) soon, sources said.
They said that India and the US will have a series of engagements and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar will be visiting the United States. A counter-terrorism and designation dialogue between the two countries will be held soon, the sources added. The third India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue was held in New Delhi in October last year. The DPG is the apex official-level meeting mechanism between India’s Defence Ministry and the US Department of Defense. It reviews and guides all aspects of bilateral defence cooperation between the two countries.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited the United States last month for a bilateral meeting with President Joe Biden. He had also taken part in the first in-person Quad leaders’ Summit and addressed the UN General Assembly.
The joint statement issued after the bilateral meeting had said that President Biden reaffirmed the strength of the defence relationship between the United States and India and the unwavering commitment to India as a Major Defence Partner through close defence engagements in information sharing, sharing of logistics and military-to-military interactions.
The two countries are also strengthening cooperation in advanced military technologies, and expanding engagements in a multilateral framework including with regional partners.
Recalling the great chemistry between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden during the recent bilateral and Quad meetings in Washington, US Deputy Secretary of State, Wendy Sherman in her interaction with Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla said that both India and America can overcome any challenge and stressed on extraordinary comfort and ease between the two nations.
A source familiar with the meeting told ANI that she said during the meet “kind of challenges that India US face together is very relevant and topical, she said asserting that there are no challenges our countries cannot overcome.” India and the US also discussed Indo-Pacific and especially exchanged notes on China.
Interestingly the US and China are also holding high-level talks in Zurich, Switzerland.
During talks between Shringla and Sherman, many issues were discussed, “China did come up, India-US shared perspectives. She mentioned the US will compete, cooperate and challenge China. Sherman said we will compete as we need a level playing field, we will challenge China, we want rule-based order, India also informed the US about the border, the status of disengagement, EAM S Jaishankar engagement with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi,” source added.
India and the US also discussed Afghanistan, Pakistan, defence cooperation, COVID-19 pandemic, climate and space cooperation today.
A flurry of diplomatic activities between India and the United States are also lined in coming weeks and months, sources informed ANI.
Moreover, the sources also divulged that the 2+2 dialogue between India and the United States is expected to take place in November and the two countries will hold a meeting of the Defence Policy Group (DPG) soon.
They said that India and the US will have a series of engagements and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar will be visiting the United States. A counter-terrorism and designation dialogue between the two countries will be held soon, the sources added.