India will not be an ally of US, but another great power: White House official

India which has a unique strategic character will not be an ally of the US but another great power a top White House official has said asserting there is no other bilateral relationship that is being deepened and strengthened more rapidly than between the two countries over the last 20 yearsResponding to a question on India during his appearance at the Aspen Security Forum meeting here on Thursday Kurt Campbell the White House Asia Coordinator said that in his view India is the most important bilateral relationship for the United States in the 21st centuryThe fact is I dont 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 audienceThe United States needs to invest even more of its capacity and build in peopletopeople ties working together on technology and other issues he saidAlso Read Massive fire breaks out at mall in Moscow regionIndia 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 saidThere are inhibitions in both of the bureaucracies and there are many challenges he acknowledgedBut I do believe that this is a relationship that should have some ambition We should look at things that we can do together whether its in space whether its education whether its on climate whether its on technology and really move in that direction he saidIf you look over the last 20 years and look at the hurdles that have been surmounted and the depth of engagement between our two sides its remarkable he saidIndiaUS relationship he asserted is not simply built on anxiety around ChinaIt is a deeper understanding of the importance of the synergies between our societies he said adding that the Indian diaspora here is a powerful connectionCampbell acknowledged that Indians were ambivalent when President Joe Biden and his administration decided to take the Quad to the leader levelIndia the US and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free open and thriving IndoPacific in the backdrop of Chinas rising military manoeuvring in the resourcerich regionChina claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea though Taiwan the Philippines Brunei Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea China also has territorial disputes with Japan in the East China SeaThere were probably voices in their bureaucracy that were against it But when President Biden made the direct appeal repeatedly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi they decided that this was in their interests he saidThe US is working very constructively with its Indian partners on the major set of initiatives in COVID19 vaccine delivery in maritime domain awareness and education the White House official saidIm thrilled to say that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia has invited us in 2023 for a major Quad meeting that we think will extend our coordination and cooperation not just in Southeast Asia and the Indo Pacific as well he saidIm very bullish on the Quad I think it will remain an unofficial venue But it has many lines of communication and its led to strengthening and deepening of coordination between these four key maritime democracies Campbell saidThe Quad known as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue is a group of four countries the United States Australia India and JapanEarlier in the day White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference that the relationship between India and the United States is strongThats what we believe she said in response to a questionWe are grateful for their Indias leadership at the last G20 and look forward to working closely with India as theyre new chair of the G 20 So we also look forward to continuing working with India on a range of important regional and global issues as well JeanPierre saidIndia formally assumed the G20 Presidency last weekThe spokesperson said the Biden administration continues to seek the confirmation of Los Angele Mayor Eric Garcetti as the US Ambassador to IndiaWe want to see that happen quickly who was votedwith strong bipartisan support to serve as ambassador to India We dont have any updates on timing but well continue to push that forward JeanPierre saidGarcetti 51 has been Mayor of Los Angeles since 2013 He is a close aide of President BidenIn July 2021 Biden nominated Garcetti as his Ambassador to IndiaBut the Senate confirmation of Garcetti has been pending for more than a year now His nomination was initially blocked by Republican Senator Chuck Grassley because of allegations of inappropriate behaviour by one of his senior staffersThough the hold on his nomination has been lifted the ruling Democrats are reluctant to bring his nomination for confirmation before the full Senate as they think they dont have enough votes for itLast month the White House had exuded confidence that Garcetti would be confirmed by the SenateThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever