US lauds Indian Navy's role in strategic waters in view of Houthi attacks

The US is engaged with India on the issue of alleged failed plot to kill a Sikh separatist and it is looking forward to the findings of the highlevel committee appointed by New Delhi to probe the matter US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma said on TuesdayIn December Washington said it thwarted an alleged plot hatched by an Indian agent to kill Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil India has already constituted a probe committee to investigate the allegationsOn the issue that was raised look we raised our concerns with the government of India There is a committee of inquiry looking into the matter and we will stay engaged with the government and look forward to their findings and theyve taken it very seriously And were grateful for that Verma saidThe former US Ambassador to India was responding to a question at an interactive session organised by the Observer Research Foundation ORFDelving into various geopolitical challenges he also lauded the Indian Navys role in strategic waters in view of attacking Houthi militants attacking various commercial vessels in the Red SeaWe appreciate everything India has been doing in the Red Sea with its Navy and the incredible support that they have provided I am grateful to all of our US military partners or other coalition partners he saidIn the last few weeks the Indian Navy extended assistance to a number of merchant vessels in the Arabian Sea following attacks on them India has not joined any coalition including the one backed by the US in view of the security situation in the Red SeaVerma said the USIndia relations are surging forward at a pace and scale that many of us could not have predicted only a few years agoHe also suggested that the cooperation under the Quad framework is not to contain China and that the overarching goal is to ensure a peaceful IndoPacific regionMore broadly that stands on its own and I think it sends a very powerful message around the world he said adding the threats in the IndoPacific are realThe threats we face are real but building our collective capabilities increasing our sharing of information and improving maritime domain awareness and interoperability for example will ensure India continues to be a provider of net security across the Indo Pacific region and beyond Verma saidAnd the US will continue to be a Pacific power for the decades ahead he said adding that Washingtons work on protecting preserving and strengthening democracy will continueThe fight is even more important in view of the rise of autocratic and authoritarian leaders and movements that seek to undermine the rules based order he said in comments seen as an oblique reference to leadership of China and RussiaThis includes continuing to strengthen a global rules based order architecture ensuring we bridge divides on income inequality and battling miss and disinformation Democracy must continue to deliver for our peoples he saidOn USChina rivalry Verma said We are engaged intensively in strategic competition with China cooperating where we can but competing aggressively to protect the rules based global orderHe also noted that former US presidents Harry S Truman Dwight Eisenhower and John F Kennedy were all committed to seeing a strong USIndia relationshipThe senior American official said before Kennedy became President in 1961 as a Senator said the fate of Asia rests with IndiaFollowing the Chinese attack on India in 1962 President Kennedy committed thousands of tonnes of ammunition and even provided significant logistics and intelligence support to New DelhiHe was committed to Indias success and its defence And then yes somewhat rapidly and for reasons that I think are too complex to cover today in the short amount of time we have India and the United States went their separate ways for nearly 25 years he saidVerma said We lost a generation of cooperation and the important lessons are to be learned from that period so that we dont repeat the mistakes of the pastHe said President Bill Clintons visit to India in 2000 marked the launch of full scale partnership between the two countriesAnd in these 24 years we have grown dramatically in every facet of our cooperation We went from USD 0 in defence sales to now being major defence partners co production partners and conducting the most complex exercises in every facet in defence he saidOn Sri Lanka Verma said both India and the US have very long and important relationships with the island nationThis 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