Ned Price, the US state department spokesperson, said China poses a consistent and systemic challenge to the vision India and the US share for the Indo-Pacific.
“There are countries in the region, namely the PRC, that have posed a consistent and in some ways even a systemic challenge to the vision that we share with India of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Price said, using China’s formal name – the People’s Republic of China.
“We share a number of important interests, a number of important values with our Indian partners, but principally we share a vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” Price said. He said these issues will be discussed not only during bilateral talks but also during the G-20 foreign ministers’ meeting which US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will attend.
India and the US have consistently called for a free, fair, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region and Prime Minister Narendra Modi also said India is dedicated to making the Indo-Pacific region an engine of global economic growth since it historically has been at the centre of trade flows in the region.
He also said that India wants to work with all Indo-Pacific countries and deepen economic cooperation and engagement among partners. He said the foundation for the relationship should be based on three Ts – Trust, Transparency and Timeliness – during a meeting of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) last year.
Price said the Ukraine war will also be discussed during the G-20 foreign ministers’ meeting and will be on agenda during the G-20 summit later this year.
He also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been very clear about India’s stance on the war and reiterated his stance. “You’ve heard very firmly from Prime Minister Modi the belief on the part of the Indian Government that this is not an era of war,” Price said while answering a question from a reporter who asked if there is consensus between the US and India on the war in Ukraine.
“India is a global strategic partner of ours. We have a wide, broad, deep relationship with India. There will be a lot on the agenda in the bilateral relationship and in the multilateral engagements he takes part in on the margins of the G20,” Price said.
“India is a key partner of ours bilaterally, in the context of the Quad as well, other international groupings, even as we’ve attempted to stitch together some of the partnerships in which India has been a key player,” he further added.
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