US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo has left for India for the third edition of the 2+2 ministerial dialogue to be held in New Delhi on Tuesday during which the 2 sides are expected to explore ways to further bolster bilateral defence ties and security cooperation within the Indo-Pacific, amidst China flexing its muscles within the strategic region.
The visit comes every week before the US presidential election on November 3.
“Wheels up for my trip to India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Indonesia. Grateful for the chance to attach with our partners to market a shared vision for a free and open #IndoPacific composed of independent, strong, and prosperous nations,” Pompeo tweeted on Sunday.
Pompeo are going to be amid Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. The Indian side at the talks are going to be represented by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
The high-level talks are happening within the midst of India’s festering border row with China in eastern Ladakh also because the renewed global specialise in the growing Chinese military assertiveness within the Indo-Pacific region. Both issues are expected to work within the talks.
India, the US and a number of other other world powers are talking about the necessity to make sure a free, open, and thriving Indo-Pacific within the backdrop of China’s rising military maneuvering within the region.
In November 2017, India, Japan, the US and Australia gave shape to the long-pending proposal of fixing the “Quad” to develop a replacement strategy to stay the critical sea routes within the Indo-Pacific freed from any influence.
