The US and the UK on Friday agreed to enhance ties with India as part of their commitment to coordinate the implementation of the Indo-Pacific strategy and pursue positive economic engagement in the strategically vital region. According to a joint statement, the two countries agreed to collaborate on critical and emerging technologies, to ensure economic security and to oppose economic coercion.
They agreed to pursue positive economic engagement in the Indo-Pacific, including through supporting just green transitions as part of the Clean Green Initiative and Build Back Better World agendas. In the coming months, the US and the UK will work together to invest in partnerships with the Pacific Islands; to support the centrality of ASEAN and to advance concrete cooperation with ASEAN and its member states; and to enhance ties with India, the statement said following their consultations on the Indo-Pacific on March 7 and 8.
India, the US, and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open, and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China’s rising military manoeuvring in the region. China claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam all claim parts of it. Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea.
India also reiterated the importance of freedom of navigation and overflight on the high seas, unimpeded lawful commerce, as well as resolving maritime disputes by peaceful means, in accordance with universally recognized principles of international law including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). While the American delegation was led by Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell, the British team was led by its Deputy National Security Advisor David Quarrey, the statement said.
The US has an Indo-Pacific strategy and Britain has an Indo-Pacific tilt. The two countries have now decided to coordinate on the Indo-Pacific, it said. They reaffirmed the importance of the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, it said.
China views self-ruled Taiwan as a rebel province that must be reunified with the mainland, even by force. The statement had no mention of Quad: the new informal grouping of four countries, that includes Australia, India, Japan, and the US.
They also noted that these steps come at a time when the US, UK, and European partners are enhancing their engagement with the Indo-Pacific and preparing to meet the challenge of the systemic competition with China, It said.
