India remains a democratic counterweight to China in the Indo-Pacific region, a senior US State Department official said on Wednesday, dismissing any suggestion that sharp bilateral disputes over trade had fundamentally changed that position for US President Donald Trump’s administration.
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“Absolutely still see India as a critical partner in the Indo-Pacific,” the official said, suggesting India is the “indo” in Indo-Pacific and adding that ties with New Delhi remain strong.
The official noted that the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s first engagement after he was sworn into office was with the Quad foreign ministers in January. India is a member of the Quad Security Dialogue with the US, Australia and Japan, aimed at countering China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific.
A leaders’ summit for the Quad is expected to take place in the fall in New Delhi, although there has been speculation about Trump skipping it. According to the State Department official, there is a possibility for Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to meet in person at the Quad. However, “we’re working on planning, so at some point that will happen, if not this year, early next year, working on the dates of that”, the official added.
Earlier this month, Trump held a phone conversation with Modi. Both sides described the talk in positive terms.
But since Trump returned to the White House in January, the America-first president has not described India as a counterweight to China and has warmed up ties with India’s arch-rival Pakistan. New Delhi has openly rejected Trump’s claims that he brokered peace between the two warring neighbours in May. The US president maintains that he used tariff pressure to force a ceasefire in the four-day India-Pakistan conflict.