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Expressing concern over China’s increasing global aggression from Hong Kong, Taiwan, the South China Sea, and along the India-China border, a senior White House official said that the US was standing with New Delhi during its military standoff with Beijing.
Speaking on the basis of anonymity, the official claimed that US President Donald Trump had actually strengthened all aspects of US-India security and defence cooperation during his presidency to build a comprehensive, enduring, and mutually beneficial defence partnership.
“We have been very concerned about China’s growing global aggression, whether it was Hong Kong, Taiwan, the South China Sea, and of course, along the India-China border,” the senior White House administration official told PTI in an exclusive interview.
Over the last six-seven months, we have stood with India as it has faced this aggression along its border. We provided facilities. We’ve been involved with India, shown our moral support for India to be able to stand up to the Chinese and ensure that the situation is resolved and de-escalated in a peaceful manner,’ the official said.
Since early May the armies of India and China have been locked in a tense frontier standoff in eastern Ladakh. Multiple rounds of military and diplomatic talks have been held by both parties. No breakthrough has yet been achieved, however.
The United States has become India’s second-largest arms supplier during the Trump administration, growing from virtually no sales a decade ago to more than USD 20 billion today, the official said.
The US and India concluded USD 3 billion in defence sales for naval and attack helicopters earlier this year. The Trump administration has lifted the restrictions on the provision of sensitive defence technology to strengthen India’s role as a net security provider in the Indo-Pacific, enabling India to become the first country to be offered armed MQ-9 Reaper drones that is not a treaty ally of the United States.
The United States has leased two MQ-9s to India in support of India during its border standoff with China, while the sale of MQ-9s is being finalised, the official said.
The US also expedited the supply of cold weather equipment to support the deployment of Indian armies through the winter along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the senior administration official said.
Furthermore, we have concluded the Basic Agreement on Exchange and Cooperation, which is the last of the so-called Core Defence Enabling Agreements. “I believe this is truly a historic achievement that clearly shows progress in the defence partnership,” the official said.
In response to a question, the senior administration official said that in January 2018, the US reduced security aid and reimbursements to Pakistan. Some exceptions have been made, such as things that are in the interest of the US.
“Some minor exceptions. The suspension, however, remains in effect. We continue to look to Pakistan for a crackdown on its territory against terrorists and militants. On that front, we’ve seen some progress. But we must definitely see more. We need to see a decisive crackdown on these terrorists and militant groups and sustained measures to rein in them,” the official said.
In the Afghan peace process, we have received cooperation from Pakistan. We value the cooperation that we have received from Pakistan. For example, when it comes to convincing the Taliban to reduce violence, we continue to work with Pakistan and look to them for help.
We were glad to see that the two sides have been sitting down in Doha for the past several months, but we are very troubled by the continuing high levels of Taliban violence. So we’re looking to Pakistan to help us advance the peace process. And right now that means seeing a reduction in Taliban violence,” added the senior administration official.
His remarks came as a high-level delegation of the Afghan Taliban, led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, met on Wednesday in Islamabad with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and discussed the Afghan peace process in the midst of growing violence in the war-torn country.
At a time when President Trump ordered the withdrawal of more American soldiers from Afghanistan, the delegation is visiting Pakistan, leaving around 2,500 troops behind in the strife country.
