Top US officials Austin and Blinken to go to India for Indo-Pacific negotiations

 Top US officials Austin and Blinken to go to India for Indo-Pacific negotiations

NEW DELHI/WASHINGTON: This week's meetings between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and India are expected to center more on worries about China and security issues in the Indo-Pacific region than they will on the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine.

Held in New Delhi on Friday, the "2 2 Dialogue"—which was initiated in 2018 with the goal of enhancing defense cooperation and harmonizing policy goals in the Indo-Pacific area—features discussions between India's foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and defense minister, Rajnath Singh.

Although India has been under pressure from the US to cooperate with Ottawa on the murder inquiry, officials indicated that the diplomatic feud between the two countries over the death of a Canadian Sikh separatist leader is not anticipated to have an impact on the conversation.

According to an American person knowledgeable with the Indo-Pacific strategy, US authorities were acting quickly to strengthen their connections with India while endorsing an inquiry into the June death that occurred on Canadian territory.

An Indian government official who was aware of the agenda said that the "key focus points" will be China and the wider Indo-Pacific region. He also mentioned that cooperation in defense, particularly the cooperative production of defense equipment, would be covered.

Agreements to supply and produce engines for Indian fighter planes, MQ-9 predator drones, and semiconductor manufacturing are being worked out between the two nations.

According to insiders, the conversations would continue where they left off after President Joe Biden's travel to New Delhi for the G20 conference in September and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's triumphant June visit to Washington.

Since neither official had the right to talk to the media, they both spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The conversation takes place in advance of Biden's anticipated meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the fringes of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in San Francisco next week, as well as Biden's potential January travel back to New Delhi.

"Differing Approaches"

Director of South Asia Programs at the Asia Society Policy Institute Farwa Aamer said that the discussion had "seen remarkable progress, particularly in the realm of defense cooperation," where collaborative manufacturing and technology transfer were now the main topics.

India has significant strategic connections to Israel and has been strengthening its relations with the US on a number of fronts. However, New Delhi has also strengthened its economic ties with Middle Eastern nations that produce gas and oil while also cautiously maintaining its long-standing links with Russia.

Given these factors, Rick Rossow, an expert on India at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that strategic conversations between Washington and New Delhi would not be influenced by the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine or India's tense ties with Canada.

According to Rossow, "our various strategies to Bangladesh's upcoming nomination process, how we are separately engaged the junta in Myanmar, the new "pro-China" government in the Maldives, and the possibility of instability in Sri Lanka and Nepal" are more important to India and have a stronger connection to the US.