US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that his country has deepened its ties with India. His statement comes amid the controversy over the alleged plot to murder Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a citizen of both the US and Canada, on US soil.
"Our partnerships in the Indo-Pacific have never been stronger... We’ve deepened our partnership with India. We’ve elevated cooperation through the Quad with India, Japan, Australia," Blinken told reporters at the end-of-year press availability on Wednesday.
Quad is an informal strategic forum comprising the US, India, Australia and Japan, one of the Quad's primary objectives has been to work for a free, open, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.
Blinken added that the US will continue to stand "shoulder-to-shoulder" with those who share its vision for a "free, open, prosperous, and secure world".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi too had stressed the strong India-US ties, stating 'a few incidents' won't affect the relations. "There is strong bipartisan support for the strengthening of this relationship, which is a clear indicator of a mature and stable partnership. I don’t think it is appropriate to link a few incidents with diplomatic relations between the two countries," the Prime Minister told the Financial Times on Wednesday.
Other partnerships
Blinken said the US is working with the United Kingdom and Australia to produce nuclear-powered submarines. "We launched new comprehensive strategic partnerships with Vietnam and Indonesia, a new Defense Cooperation Agreement with the Philippines, new trilateral initiatives with the Philippines and Japan, new embassies in the Solomon Islands and Tonga," he added.
Blinken further said that the US is more closely aligned than ever with the G7, with the EU, with other allies and partners on the challenges presented by Beijing. "We're working together to address them. We’re deepening cooperation and coordination between NATO and our Indo-Pacific allies. These efforts have allowed us to engage more effectively when tackling areas of concern, like China’s coercive trade and economic practices, peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the East and South China Seas, and human rights," Blinken said.
On Israel
Blinken said that the United States believes Israel has an obligation to eliminate the threat posed by Hamas while minimizing civilian casualties in Gaza."We continue to believe that Israel does not have to choose between removing the threat of Hamas and minimizing the toll on civilians in Gaza," Blinken said, adding that Israel "had an obligation to do both and it has a strategic interest to do both."
