General Lloyd Austin met Prime Minister Modi upon his arrival in New Delhi on Friday.
New Delhi:
US Defense Secretary General Lloyd Austin said Saturday that he had a conversation with Indian ministers about the human rights of minorities in the country, as it was important for partners to have “those kinds of discussions.”
When asked at a press conference in Delhi if he had spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about “human rights violations, especially against Muslim minorities in the Northeast,” General Austin said: “I did not have a chance to speak. with him about that. I had a conversation with other members of the cabinet about this. “
“We have to remember that India is our partner, a partner whose partnership we value. And I think partners should be able to have those kinds of discussions. And certainly, we feel comfortable doing that. And you can have those discussions in a very meaningful way. and progress, “he added.
Earlier, responding to a question from NDTV on whether he shared the concerns raised by Senator Robert Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, about “the deterioration of the state of democracy in India,” General Austin said the rights Human rights and the rule of law were important to the United States.
“Have you heard the president [Joe] Biden says that human rights and the rule of law are important to the United States of America. We always lead with our values. As a democracy, that is very important to us. India is a democratic country and you also treasure your values. There are a number of things we can work on and we will work together, “he said.
General Austin is making the first visit by a senior member of US President Joe Biden’s administration to India as part of efforts to forge an alliance of countries seeking to reject China’s assertiveness in the region. He visited Japan and South Korea before arriving here.
He met with Prime Minister Modi upon his arrival in New Delhi on Friday and held talks with national security adviser Ajit Doval. On Saturday he met with Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar. It comes out on Sunday.
“India, in particular, is an increasingly important partner in the rapidly changing international dynamics,” General Austin said after meeting Singh.
Before his visit, the chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee asked him to raise his concerns about democracy in the country with Indian officials.
In a letter sent to him, Senator Robert Menéndez noted that while the partnership between the United States and India is “fundamental to meeting the challenges of the 21st century,” the partnership “must be based on adherence to democratic values.” The Indian government, he added, “has moved away from those values.”
“The current crackdown by the Indian government against farmers peacefully protesting the new agricultural laws and the corresponding intimidation of journalists and government critics only underscores the deterioration of the state of democracy in India,” he wrote.
In addition, in recent years, the growing anti-Muslim sentiment and related government actions, such as the Citizenship Amendment Act, the suppression of political dialogue and the arrest of political opponents following the repeal of Article 370 in Kashmir, and the use of laws Opponents of sedition to persecute politicians have resulted in the US human rights group Freedom House stripping India of its ‘Free’ status in its annual global poll, “said the US senator.
Relations between the United States and India have historically been thorny, but China’s growing aggression in the region brought them closer together under Prime Minister Modi and former US President Donald Trump. After US comments on the farmers’ protests, India had cited the January 6 violence on Capitol Hill.
Among other thorny issues, General Austin said he did not discuss possible US sanctions on India’s plan to buy long-range S-400 anti-aircraft missiles from Russia with Indian ministers. “India has not yet acquired the Russian S-400 missile system, so the issue of sanctions was not discussed,” he said.
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