WASHINGTON: The US is providing assistance to its critical partner India to enhance capabilities that it might need to defend its border with China and also develop its own defence industrial base, a top American commander has said, stressing that New Delhi and Washington face the same security challenge from Beijing in the Indo-Pacific region.
“We value our partnership with India, and we’ve been increasing it and doing a lot more, over time. They have the same security challenge, primary security challenger that we do, and it’s real on their northern border,” Admiral John Christopher Aquilino, commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, told members of the House Armed Services Committee during a hearing on Indo-Pacific National Security Challenges. “Two skirmishes now in over the past nine or 10 months on that border, as they continue to get pressurised by the PRC (People’s Republic of China) for border gains,” Admiral Aquilino said.
He was responding to a question from Indian American Congressman Ro Khanna. “I would like you to reflect on the importance of the relationship — postcolonialism India and China had a relationship to emerge as the Asian voice. But that relationship now has really soured with a concern that there should not be a hegemon in Asia and that China is treating other countries as junior partners,” Khannasaid.
“It seems to me that this gives us an opportunity to ensure that China doesn’t emerge as a hegemon to strengthen the relationship with India,” said the Indian American Congressman. Aquillino said both India and the US have the same security challenges. “We also have the desire to operate together, based on the world’s largest democracy. We have common values, and we also have people-to-people ties for a number of years. ”
“We value our partnership with India, and we’ve been increasing it and doing a lot more, over time. They have the same security challenge, primary security challenger that we do, and it’s real on their northern border,” Admiral John Christopher Aquilino, commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, told members of the House Armed Services Committee during a hearing on Indo-Pacific National Security Challenges. “Two skirmishes now in over the past nine or 10 months on that border, as they continue to get pressurised by the PRC (People’s Republic of China) for border gains,” Admiral Aquilino said.
He was responding to a question from Indian American Congressman Ro Khanna. “I would like you to reflect on the importance of the relationship — postcolonialism India and China had a relationship to emerge as the Asian voice. But that relationship now has really soured with a concern that there should not be a hegemon in Asia and that China is treating other countries as junior partners,” Khannasaid.
“It seems to me that this gives us an opportunity to ensure that China doesn’t emerge as a hegemon to strengthen the relationship with India,” said the Indian American Congressman. Aquillino said both India and the US have the same security challenges. “We also have the desire to operate together, based on the world’s largest democracy. We have common values, and we also have people-to-people ties for a number of years. ”