During a virtual event hosted by the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), a non-profit organisation, United States Vice President Mike Pence spoke of India’s relationship with the US, stating that for the strategic partnership “the best is yet to come.”
“When you think about the US and India, you think about two strongest democracies in the world, the shared values,” he added.
“So much of the strong India-US ties is a result of the relationship that President Trump and Prime Minister Modi have forged. They are both larger than life figures. People know where they stand. They have great aspirations,” Pence said.
Pence also addressed India’s current standoff with China. He stated that the US stands firm in its allyship with India.
“We want to see a future of freedom in the Indo-Pacific and we want to see a future of freedom across Asia,” Pence said.
“As we (India and the US) stand more closely together for security in our economies, we believe that that will only strengthen the case for a future of freedom. We want good relations with every country in the world including China and President (Donald) Trump has very good relations with (Chinese) President Xi (Jinping). But we are going to continue to stand firm with our allies in the region like India,” Pence said.
Tensions between India and China have escalated since May 2020, when New Delhi detected multiple intrusions into Indian territory by Chinese troops. Relations have only grown more tense since a violent altercation between Indian and Chinese troops on 15 June in Galway Valley that left 20 Indian soldiers dead. The number of causalities sustained by China is unknown.
The United States has its own tensions with China over over trade, human rights and the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has been backing India in its current face-off with the country.
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