India most important bilateral relationship for US in 21st century: White House official

A top official in Washington has said that the relationship with India "is the most important bilateral relationship for the United States in the 21st century".

Kurt Campbell, deputy assistant to the president and coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, said this on Thursday (30) at an event of Center for New American Security (CNAS), a think tank in Washington DC.

"India is a great power. It's not an ally of the US and never be an ally of the United States. But it does not mean that we will not be close partners. And that's why we need to understand the role that India will play as a great nation on the global stage. We want to encourage that and support that and deepen this relationship which is already, probably the strongest people-to-people relationship of any country that the United States has on the global stage," he said.

Responding to a query, Campbell said there has been an exponential rise in engagement in virtually every area.

"We just concluded discussions in a form called ICET in which the Indian National Security Advisor brought the highest-ranking group of Indian technologists ever to come to any country, and came to the United States to talk about how to partner on areas going forward," he added.

The official said the two nations are working on defence as well as people-to-people issues.

"We want more Indian students in our universities. We want more American students in Indian universities. We want more people-to-people, university partnerships more generally, and health partnerships. We have just announced efforts to work together in space. So the agenda is extraordinarily rich. The ambitions are high," he added.

'China took provocative steps along India border'

Reiterating that Washington is destined to work more closely with New Delhi, Campbell spoke about heightened tension between India and China, saying, "What we have seen over the last five or 10 years, is a series of actions that have challenged the global order and that have raised questions about China's goal and ambition. Not just in one or two places, in a variety of places. I began by talking about the India - China border. Some of the steps that China has taken along this vast border have been provocative and deeply concerning to Indian partners and friends."

The CNAS has said in a report that the India-China border intrusions and clashes have become more frequent and threaten to lead to all-out conflict. The increased prospect of India-China border hostility has implications for the US and its Indo-Pacific strategy between the two Asian giants, it said.

The think tank's report, authored by Lisa Curtis and Derek Grossman, also made several recommendations to help deter and respond to further Chinese aggression along the border with India.

This includes the US offering India the sophisticated military technology it requires to defend its borders and initiate the coproduction and co-development of military equipment and assist India in strengthening its maritime and naval capacity.

(With ANI inputs)