Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper took their anti-China road show to New Delhi yesterday for the third U.S.-India 2+2 meeting with their Indian counterparts. Pompeo and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar “agreed that the U.S.-India Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership is critical to the security and prosperity of both countries, the Indo-Pacific region, and the world,” declared the State Department readout of their bilateral meeting. “Today is a new opportunity for two great democracies like ours to grow closer,” Pompeo pompously said before the 2+2 meeting. “There is much more work to do for sure. We have a lot to discuss today: Our cooperation on the pandemic that originated in Wuhan, to confronting the Chinese Communist Party’s threats to security and freedom to promoting peace and stability throughout the region.”
“The United States will stand with the people of India as they confront threats to their freedom and sovereignty,” Pompeo promised. “Our leaders and our citizens see with increasing clarity that the CCP is no friend to democracy, the rule of law, transparency, nor to freedom of navigation — the foundation of a free and open and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Associated Press quoted him as saying.
Esper and Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh “applauded the strength of the defense relationship between the United States and India, and reinforced their commitment to deepening military-to-military cooperation, including joint-service cooperation; increasing secure communications capabilities; and enhancing mutual logistics engagements,” reported the DOD readout of their bilateral. “Secretary Esper and Minister Singh commended the conclusion of the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) during the visit, and welcomed the expansion of information-sharing.”
