“India Won’t Be US Ally, Will Be Another Great Power”: White House Official
According to a top White House official, there is no other bilateral relationship that has “deepened and strengthened” more quickly than the one between the two countries over the past 20 years. India, which has a distinctive strategic character, will not be an ally of the US, but rather another great power.
Kurt Campbell, the White House Asia Coordinator, said in response to a question about India during his appearance at the Aspen Security Forum meeting in this city on Thursday that, in his opinion, India is the most crucial bilateral relationship for the United States in the twenty-first century.
“The fact is, I don’t know of any bilateral relationship that is being deepened and strengthened more rapidly than the United States and India over the last 20 years,” he told a Washington audience.
In order to collaborate on technology and other issues, the United States needs to invest even more of its capabilities and strengthen inter-personal relationships, 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 another great power. But I think there are reasons to believe that our strategic alignment is growing across the board in almost every arena,” Campbell said. He admitted that there are many obstacles and that both bureaucracies have barriers.
When President Joe Biden and his administration chose to elevate the Quad to the leader level, Campbell recognised that Indians had mixed feelings.
In light of China’s expanding military manoeuvres in the resource-rich region, India, the US, and a number of other world powers have been discussing the necessity to guarantee a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific.
Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam all have territorial claims in the disputed South China Sea, but China claims almost all of it. In the South China Sea, Beijing has erected military outposts and artificial islands. China also has territorial disputes with Japan in the East China Sea.
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