US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday evening for his maiden voyage to India. Flashing is that third senior official in the Biden administration to visit Delhi after Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin paid a visit in March and Special Envoy on Climate Change John Kerry paid a visit in April.
Noisy U.S. Department of State, Antony Blinken’s trip to New Delhi is intended to reaffirm the US commitment to strengthen bilateral relations with India. The US Secretary of State will be in the state capital for just over 20 hours.
Blinken is scheduled to fly to Kuwait on Wednesday at 5.30 p.m. as part of his two-nation tour.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at Delhi Airport on Tuesday (Photo: PTI)
Flashing meets PM modes, EAM Jaishankar
On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held extensive talks with Secretary of State (EAM) S Jaishankar. The talks are due Start at 12 noon.
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Blinken is supposed to meet the National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval before meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 4:30 p.m..
A number of bilateral and other pressing issues are likely to play a role in the discussions, including but not limited to Withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and coordination between Quad members for Covid-19 management and vaccine supply.
“Secretary Blinken will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar to discuss a wide range of topics, including further cooperation in COVID-19 Response Efforts, Indo-Pacific engagement, divided regional security interests, divided democratic values, and address the Climate crisis“Said a press release from the US State Department.
US-India bilateral relations
A “fact sheet” released Tuesday by the US State Department stated that as of 2020, the United States will have “$ 20 billion in defense sales” to India.
A partnership that is anchored in shared values, shared interests and goodwill.
Welcome to the US Secretary of State @SecBlinken on his arrival in Delhi. pic.twitter.com/iFd7C5pH31
– Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) July 27, 2021
It goes on to say: “US pharmaceutical companies have coordinated with Indian companies since the beginning of the pandemic. This collaboration includes voluntary licensing and technology transfer agreements to increase global production capacity. “
Relations between India and the US have expanded significantly over the past decade as the two countries signed three fundamental agreements – LEMOA (Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement) in 2016, COMCASA (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement) in 2018 and SCHOLARSHIP (Basic exchange and cooperation agreement) last October.
US Secretary of Defense refers to stalemate in Ladakh
At about the same time as Foreign Minister Blinken arrived in New Delhi, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin referred in a speech on Tuesday to the Chinese “aggression against India”. Austin spoke at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore.
In a clear reference to that Military stalemate between India and China in the east of Ladakh, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said: “Unfortunately, Beijing’s refusal to peacefully resolve disputes and respect the rule of law does not only occur on the water.”
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin with Secretary of Defense Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on March 20, 2021 (Photo: PTI)
He added that China’s claim to the vast majority of South China Sea has no basis under international law.
“This claim affects the sovereignty of the states in the region. We continue to support the coastal states in the region in safeguarding their rights under international law. And we remain committed to our contractual obligations to Japan in the Senkaku Islands and the Philippines. “In the South China Sea,” said US Secretary of Defense Llyod Austin.
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