China, Russia Concerned About India-US Relationship: Top American Diplomat

Washington: China and Russia are concerned about the strengthening India-US relationship because it promotes inclusivity, peace, and the peaceful resolution of disputes, along with valuing diverse voices in society, a top US diplomat said Monday.

“Frankly, why do you think China and Russia are so concerned about this partnership? Because we bring a way of life to the rest of the world, that is about inclusivity, about peace, about the peaceful resolution of disputes, about the rule of law, and it’s about hearing everyone’s voice in a society,” Richard Verma, the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources said at the prestigious Hudson Institute, in response to a question, after he delivered remarks on India-US relationship.

Mr Verma said the relationship between India and US is “a very different mode” than how some of the adversaries of the latter operate.

The diplomat noted that this uniqueness is why President Joe Biden has described the relationship between both countries as the “defining relationship of this century”.

He recalled that nearly 20 years ago, when he stood with then-Senator Biden and staff director Tony Blinken in the Senate, Biden had remarked that if the US and India were the closest friends and partners by 2020, the world would be a safer place.

“Not just because we have two big militaries, not just because we have two big economies, but because we actually stand for something that matters to people in their daily lives across the world,” Mr Verma said.

In response to a question on QUAD, Mr Verma said it aims to promote peace, security, stability and prosperity.

“I look at what the Quad has, the kinds of statements and pronouncements it’s made on technology, for example …technology for good, not to harass, not to surveil, not to misinform, laying out a set of key principles, going even further on some of our work on quantum computing and cybersecurity,” he said.

“When I look at what the Quad has said and done on energy transition, trade, rule-based order, I don’t think it has to take on a military character. Indians are not supportive of that. Frankly, I don’t think we need that. I think there are other venues to deal with core military issues,” he said.

“I think this is about like-minded countries, two of which are treaty allies of the United States, coming together in a different form, in a different architecture, bringing in the most populous country in the Indo-Pacific to actually chart some new territory that we hadn’t charted before,” Verma said.

“I think it has positive impact to security without being a treaty-based security organisation. There’s great promise and excitement in the QUAD. I think this weekend’s meeting will be quite significant. It’ll be historic. QUAD will continue to just build in many ways,” said the top American diplomat.

US President Joe Biden will host the fourth in-person Quad leaders summit at his Delaware residence next week, in a rare gesture for his counterparts from Australia, India and Japan, a presidential spokesperson announced Thursday.

India, which was scheduled to host QUAD this year, would host the summit next year. QUAD leadership summit is an initiative of Biden and is one of the key foreign policy legacies for the outgoing American president. 

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