New Delhi: A day after the Chinese Defence Minister warned of the formation of a NATO-like military alliance in the Asia Pacific, saying it would create conflict in the region, US Secretary of Defence Llyod Austin III on Monday cleared the air and said America is not trying to establish a NATO in the Indo-Pacific. Austin made the remark during the press statement, following talks with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh here in New Delhi on Monday.
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Great to meet again with my friend @rajnathsingh and thank him for his unwavering commitment to U.S.-India defense relations.
— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) June 5, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
His leadership has helped paved the way for deeper collaboration, joint exercises, and technology sharing between our two countries. pic.twitter.com/uMuyS9DYtH
">Great to meet again with my friend @rajnathsingh and thank him for his unwavering commitment to U.S.-India defense relations.
— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) June 5, 2023
His leadership has helped paved the way for deeper collaboration, joint exercises, and technology sharing between our two countries. pic.twitter.com/uMuyS9DYtHGreat to meet again with my friend @rajnathsingh and thank him for his unwavering commitment to U.S.-India defense relations.
— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) June 5, 2023
His leadership has helped paved the way for deeper collaboration, joint exercises, and technology sharing between our two countries. pic.twitter.com/uMuyS9DYtH
The US Secretary of Defence arrived on June 4 from Singapore on a two-day visit. It will be Secretary Austin’s second visit to India, the previous one being in March 2021. In response to a media query over the Chinese Defence Minister's statement, the US Secretary of Defence said, "We are absolutely not trying to establish a NATO in the Indo-Pacific. We continue to work with like-minded countries to ensure that the region remains free and open so that commerce can prosper and ideas can continue to be exchanged."
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"India and the US share the same vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific. We want to make sure that we do everything we can to ensure that things don't happen", added Secretary of Defence Lloyd J Austin III. In a security conference in Singapore on Sunday, which was also attended by US Defence Secretary, the Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu said, "Attempts to push for NATO-like alliances in the Asia-Pacific is a way of kidnapping regional countries and exaggerating conflicts and confrontations".
Shangfu's comments came a day after the US and Chinese military vessels sailed close to each other in the Taiwan Strait. The US is a member of Aukus which groups it with Britain and Australia. America is also a member of Quad, which includes Japan, India and Australia. These groupings have been instrumental in countering growing Chinese aggression in the region.
Meanwhile, after holding bilateral talks with his US counterpart, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the India-US partnership is critical for ensuring a free, open and rules-bound Indo-Pacific region. "We look forward to working closely with the US across the domains for capacity building and further consolidating our strategic partnership", he tweeted following talks with his Indian counterpart.
