Opinion | What the timing of the US-India defence deal reveals
- Not only was the signing of the US-India defence pact important, the visit by America’s top two national security officials came just a week before the presidential election
- This signals a longer-term shift in US policy towards both India and China
The visit took place a week before the US presidential election and leaves no doubt about the importance of US engagement with India at a time when the world’s most powerful democracy and its largest one are both being challenged by their failure to control the Covid-19 pandemic.
This was Pompeo’s fourth visit to India as secretary of state and the third meeting in the US-India 2+2 ministerial dialogue. The two countries cemented military ties by signing the last of four foundational accords, the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement, under which they will share geospatial intelligence.
Today, the Nato-like Indo-Pacific alliance has been firming up, triggered by the recent Sino-Indian border conflict.
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China, India accuse each other of firing shots in tense border region