The White House has said India remains an important strategic partner of the US and the relationship between Washington and New Delhi is expected to remain unchanged. The Biden administration asserted that India remains a “very important partner” of the US. The remarks on behalf of the Biden administration came during a press briefing by the US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Monday when he was responding to questions on US-India relationship in the context of some reports, articles and opinion pieces that were critical of the Indian government.
“India is the world’s largest democracy. It is an important strategic partner of the United States and I expect that to remain true,” Miller was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
US officials in the recent past have called India a “very important partner” and that the relationship between the two countries continues to grow.
There has been some unease in some areas of the bilateral relationship. The Khalistan movement, their attacks on places of worship, targeting of the Indian-origin people by Khalistanis and the recent statement by the State Department on the issue of the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have led to some unease between the strategic partners. India objected strongly to the comments from the State Department.
Meanwhile, the US also appreciated India’s efforts to modernise the military by slightly reducing its dependence on Russia.
A top intelligence official from the US Department of Defense has told the Congress that in 2023, India took steps to modernise its military to compete with China and reduce its dependency on Russian origin-equipment.
During the past year, India has showcased itself as a global leader by hosting the Group of 20 economic summit and demonstrated a greater willingness to counter PRC (People’s Republic of China) activity throughout the Indo-Pacific region, Lt Gen Jeffrey Kruse, Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency told members of the House Armed Services Committee the subcommittee on intelligence and special operations during a Congressional hearing on defence intelligence countering China.
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