Just a week before voting day in the U.S. election, two of President Trump’s top national security officials are on a trip to India to consult with Indian counterparts on countering the Chinese threat.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Esper arrived in New Delhi on Monday (October 26). Mr. Pompeo will meet with Indian Foreign Minister Jason Suggson later that evening. On Tuesday, Pompeo and Esper will hold “2+2” talks with Suessen and Indian Defense Minister Singh to discuss strategic and security issues.
This is the second time this month that the foreign and defense ministers of the United States and India have met. Earlier this month, they both participated in a meeting of the Indo-Pacific Quad (U.S., Japan, India, and Australia) in Tokyo, Japan. The theme of that meeting was how to strengthen mutual cooperation to curb China’s military expansion.
Pompeo and Esper will also call on Indian Prime Minister Modi later Tuesday, according to a schedule of visits released by India’s foreign ministry.
Analysts say Pompeo and Esper’s visit is part of U.S. efforts to strengthen alliance ties in response to the Chinese threat. China’s political and military influence in the Asian region is growing.
Just prior to Pompeo and Esper’s visit, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Ronald Reagan visited New Delhi last week and referred to China as “the elephant in the room,” meaning the trouble people are aware of but don’t want to talk about publicly. Beegan said the United States is willing to help India advance its regional interests in building a free and open Indo-Pacific region to counter the threat posed by China’s high-technology communications networks.
For the past several months, India and China have been locked in a military confrontation along their border in the Himalayan region of Ladakh, where in June the two countries’ armies engaged in bloody clashes that have not been seen in decades.
India and the United States are working on a satellite intelligence agreement. According to Indian media reports, Indian Prime Minister Modi held a cabinet meeting last week and approved a draft of the agreement. The agreement will allow India to share advanced U.S. satellite data and imagery, which will go a long way toward improving the accuracy of India’s advanced weapons, such as missiles and drones, and further narrowing the gap between India and China’s military capabilities.
Since 2007, the United States has sold more than $21 billion in weaponry to India. Washington has been urging the Indian side to sign an agreement to share sensitive information and encrypt communications so that India’s advanced military equipment can have a greater impact.
At the end of this visit to India, Pompeo will also travel to Sri Lanka and the Maldives. These two Indian Ocean countries are located in important parts of China’s One Belt, One Road project. China has invested a lot of money and built a lot of infrastructure there, but it has also created a heavy debt burden for these two countries.
The last stop on Pompeo’s Asian tour was Indonesia. Indonesia, along with Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Brunei, are all sovereign claimants in the South China Sea and have territorial disputes with China.
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