The United States provided “strong and unequivocal support” to India during its current border crisis with China, which is engaged in increasingly aggressive behavior throughout the Indo-Pacific even during the coronavirus pandemic, a senior official from the the White House. From a bilateral perspective, China’s recent actions on the Royal Line of Control (FTA) with India have further reinforced the importance of the strategic partnership between the United States and India, said Lisa Curtis, deputy aide to President Donald Trump, in a virtual panel organized by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Expert Group.
“Whether cutting off Vietnam’s access to its fishing waters, undermining Hong Kong’s self-government, deploying military submarines to threaten Japan, or contesting Indian territorial sovereignty throughout LAC, Beijing has adopted increasingly aggressive behavior in the entire Indo-Pacific, even as the world community has faced the coronavirus pandemic, ”Curtis said.
The crisis has strengthened the United States’ determination to work to build its relationship with India as a bulwark against Chinese aggression, he said during discussion on the recently published article by researcher Darshana Baruah, “India in the Indo-Pacific: The New Delhi theater of opportunities “.
“Throughout the crisis, the United States has provided strong and unequivocal support to India, and our cooperation has certainly deepened. We are encouraged by India’s strong but responsible approach to Chinese aggression, ”said Curtis, who is the Senior Director for Central and South Asia at the National Security Council (NSC) at the White House.
“While always seeking to reduce escalation through diplomatic means, India has also demonstrated military and economic determination,” Curtis said, stating that the Indo-Pacific strategy, which was introduced in 2017, is designed to foster a stable, open free order. and rule-based. . “This order is not just for the benefit of the United States. It is for the benefit of all countries that they pride themselves on their sovereignty and independence. The Indo-Pacific strategy, of course, prioritizes building relationships between the US and India, because we see India as an emerging global power that shares our goals of ensuring that this region remains peaceful, stable, and with the prospect of increasing prosperity, “he said. The United States’ strategic partnership with India is truly based on shared commitments to freedom, democratic principles and the rule of law. It is based on a convergence of strategic interests, focused in promoting global security instability, he said. Noting that the Trump administration elevated America’s relationship with India in a way that no other administration had seen, he said the joint statement signed by President Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the visit of the first to India in February is testimony to the decision of this administration. Commitment to build the vital association. Curtis said the United States has strengthened the QUAD mechanism among the leaders of the United States, Japan, India and Australia. At the beginning of the Trump administration, the Quad was not even officially meeting.
“But starting in November 2017, we started a regular QUAD dialogue at the level of the Assistant Secretary General. And on September 19, we had the quadruple meeting at the ministerial level for the first time. In addition, President Trump has met twice in a trilateral format with India and Japan; first in the G-20 Buenos Aires in December 2018, and then again in Osaka, in the G-20 in June 2019, ”he said. Both the QUAD and the trilateral formats are really important to strengthen institutional support and foster that multinational cooperation that will contribute to a free and open Indo-Pacific, said Curtis.
“These mechanisms help curb Chinese aggression, which has increased since the beginning of the global pandemic,” he added.
Tension in eastern Ladakh escalated after clashes in the Galwan Valley on June 15 in which 20 Indian army soldiers were killed. The Chinese side also suffered casualties, but details have not yet been released.
The situation deteriorated again after China tried unsuccessfully to occupy Indian territory on the southern shore of Lake Pangong on the middle night of August 29-30.
China is also involved in highly controversial territorial disputes in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea. Beijing has built and militarized many of the islands and reefs it controls in the region. Both areas are said to be rich in minerals, oil, and other natural resources and vital to world trade.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counterclaims over the area.
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