India faces significant geopolitical challenges from China and its behaviour on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), stated the White House on Friday in its Indo-Pacific strategic report. The Chinese coercion spans the globe, the report stated, but it is most acute in the Indo-Pacific.
The Indo-Pacific strategic report was released as part of the Quad Ministerial with foreign ministers of Australia, India, Japan and the US, which is underway in Australia. The ministers expressed concerns over the malign Chinese role in the region.
“India faces very significant challenges. China’s behaviour on the Line of Actual Control has had a galvanizing impact on India. From our standpoint, we see tremendous opportunities in working with another democracy – with a country that has a maritime tradition that understands the importance of the global commons – to advance critical issues in the region,” a senior White House official told news agency PTI on the condition of anonymity.
He extended the US’ desire to continue building on the work of past administrations to significantly broaden and deepen that relationship, giving India the recognition of a critical strategic partner.
China, the strategic report said, is combining its economic, diplomatic, military, and technological might as it pursues a sphere of influence in the Indo-Pacific and seeks to become the world’s most influential power.
This is the first region-specific report released by US President Joe Biden-led administration. It outlines Biden’s vision to firmly anchor the United States’ position in the Indo-Pacific by supporting India’s rise and regional leadership in the process.
“We will continue to build a strategic partnership in which the United States and India work together and through regional groupings to promote stability in South Asia; collaborate in new domains such as health, space, and cyberspace; deepen our economic and technology cooperation; and contribute to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the statement read.
“We recognise that India is a like-minded partner and leader in South Asia and the Indian Ocean, active in and connected to Southeast Asia, a driving force of the Quad and other regional fora, and an engine for regional growth and development,” it added.
From the economic coercion of Australia to the conflict along the Line of Actual Control with India to the growing pressure on Taiwan and bullying of neighbours in the East and South China Seas, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has been undermining human rights and international law, including freedom of navigation, as well as other principles that bring stability and prosperity to the region, the strategy said.
“Our collective efforts over the next decade will determine whether the PRC succeeds in transforming the rules and norms that have benefitted the Indo-Pacific and the world. For our part, the United States is investing in the foundations of our strength at home, aligning our approach with those of our allies and partners abroad, and competing with the PRC to defend the interests and vision for the future that we share with others,” it noted.
“We will strengthen the international system, keep it grounded in shared values, and update it to meet 21st-century challenges. Our objective is not to change China but to shape the strategic environment in which it operates, building a balance of influence in the world that is maximally favourable to the United States, our allies and partners, and the interests and values we share,” the report added.