With China flexing its muscle in the Indo-Pacific, US Ambassador to New Delhi Eric Garcetti said here on Wednesday India and the US can work jointly in resisting “coercion” and deploy ships and air forces together in the Indo-Pacific to ensure freedom of the skies and the seas. In an address at an event in IIT-Delhi, the envoy said the two countries are poised to further deepen co-production of military equipment and cited the planned work in aero-engines, artillery and ground vehicles as just a few examples.
Touching on the issues relating to human rights, Garcetti said the US will continue to engage with India on it “as we have always done, and as we do in all countries around the world.” He also quoted Mahatma Gandhi: “Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and test of our civilization.”
The US ambassador said India and the US together can build a bulwark against the “might makes right” mentality, in comments seen as an oblique reference to China.
He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to Washington last week “crystalised” that the India-US partnership is accelerating at “breathtaking speed” and is having “undeniable impact”.
“The US and India have the power to set an example and build a more peaceful world, in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. A key component of peace is protection,” he said.
“As we've unfortunately seen over the past three years, we live in a world in which countries ignore sovereign borders, advancing their claims through violence and destruction,” he said, in an apparent reference to China and Russia. “This is not the world we want. This is not the world we need,” he added.