New Delhi: With the announcement of the Quad Summit by the White House on May 24 during US President Joseph Biden’s bilateral visit to Japan and South Korea, Washington has signaled that it will continue to support the Indo-Pacific amid the never-ending turmoil in Ukraine. Haven’t forgotten.
While the White House statement makes it clear that President Biden will build on more than a year of intense diplomacy with the Indo-Pacific with the US-ASEAN summit in Washington on May 12-13. The US message is clear that it has not forgotten China and that Ukraine is not America’s only agenda.
Although the agenda for the Quad summit is still a work in progress, exchanges between US Senator Bill Haggerty and Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the Senate Appropriations Committee show that India and the US are in the midst of public pressure and media perception over the Ukraine war. are on the same page.
Responding to a positive question from Senator Haggerty on the need for India and the US to take concrete steps together to deepen the bilateral strategic alliance, Secretary Blinken said he shared the US Senator’s view that the India-US alliance is a good alliance. And this will have an impact on the future steps of the Chinese Communist Party.
Blinken said, “I think this (India-US) partnership has the potential to be one of the most important and foundational relationships that we are looking forward to over the next decades. It has been a success story over many administrations.” President Biden has spent a great deal of time engaging directly with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India’s leadership. We have activated the QUAD which brings together India, the US, Australia and Japan. Russia for India, out of necessity, The partner of need was the partner of choice, when we were not in a position to be the partner. Now we are and we are investing in that effort.”
Secretary Blinken continued, “I think there is a growing friendship between the US and India. Obviously, China is a big part of that.” The US Secretary of State’s statement cancels the planned campaign in the Western media against PM Modi’s position on the Ukraine war and reflects the friendship between the US and the Indian leadership.
Although the Quad has been defined by China as a confrontational bloc, PM Modi believes that the group is for the global good while protecting the rule of law in the Indo-Pacific. The Quad summit on May 24 in Tokyo will focus on building global supply chains, vaccine support and humanitarian disaster relief assistance, with India moving across the Indian Ocean along with its Quad partners.
first published:April 28, 2022, 9:01 a.m.
