India will not be an ally of the United States but will be another great power, a top White House official said on Thursday, saying there was no other bilateral relationship that was “deepening and strengthening” faster than the one between the two countries over the past 20 years. flight. Responding to a question on India during his address at the Aspen Security Forum here, Kurt Campbell, the White House Asia Coordinator, said that in his view, India is the most important bilateral relationship for the United States in the 21st century.
“The fact is, I don’t know of any bilateral relationship that has deepened and strengthened faster than the United States and India over the last 20 years,” a top White House official told an audience in Washington. The United States must invest even more of its capacity to build people-to-people ties, cooperate on technology and other issues, he said. “India has a unique strategic character. It will not be an ally of the United States. It has the desire to be an independent, powerful state and it will be the next great power. But I think there are reasons to believe that our strategic rapprochement is growing across almost every arena,” Campbell said.
There are barriers in both bureaucracies and there are many challenges, he noted. “But I believe this is a relationship that should have some ambition. We should look at things that we can do together, whether it’s in space, whether it’s in education, whether it’s in climate, whether it’s in technology, and really go in that direction,” he said. “When you look at the last 20 years and look at the obstacles that have been overcome and the depth of engagement between our two sides, it’s remarkable,” he said.
He argued that India-US relations are not based solely on fears of China. “It’s a deeper understanding of the importance of synergies between our societies,” he said, adding that the Indian diaspora is a strong link here. Campbell acknowledged that Indians were ambivalent when President Joe Biden and his administration decided to elevate Quad to leader status.
“There were probably dissenting voices in their bureaucracy. But when President Biden made repeated direct appeals to Prime Minister Modi, they decided it was in their interest,” he said. The U.S. is working very constructively with its Indian partners on a core set of initiatives in the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, maritime awareness and education, a White House official said. “I am excited to say that Australian Prime Minister Albanese has invited us to a major Quad meeting in 2023, which we think will expand our coordination, cooperation not only in Southeast Asia but also in the Indo-Pacific region,” he said.
“I’m very optimistic about the quad. I think this will remain an unofficial site. But it has many lines of communication and it has led to the strengthening and deepening of coordination between these four key maritime democracies,” said Campbell. The Quad, known as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, is a group of four countries: the United States, Australia, India and Japan.
