US defence chief praises India’s ‘leadership role in Indo-Pacific’ amid concerns over China
- Lloyd Austin’s trip comes a week after the first summit of the Quad – a four-way alliance of the US, Japan, Australia and India seen as a bulwark against China
- The US says Washington is keen for its partners in the region to have ‘a network of overlapping relationships’ not necessarily involving America
US Defence chief Lloyd Austin on Saturday praised India’s growing ties with “like-minded partners” as he held talks in New Delhi dominated by shared alarm about China.
India is a vital US partner in the Asia-Pacific region as Washington seeks to take on Beijing, and Austin’s two-day trip was New Delhi’s first face-to-face meeting with President Joe Biden’s administration.
It follows hot on the heels of frosty US-China talks in Alaska and a visit by Austin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Japan and South Korea, two other important partners irked by China.
“As the world faces a global pandemic and growing challenges to an open, stable international system, the US-India relationship is a stronghold of a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” Austin said after his meeting with Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
Austin said he and his Indian counterpart had discussed India’s planned purchase of Russia’s S400 air defence system, adding that Washington had asked all its partners to stay away from Russian equipment to avoid US sanctions.
“There has been no delivery of S400 systems to India and so the possibility of sanctions was not discussed,” Austin told reporters.
