Amid a diplomatic row between India and Canada, the US said on Friday it would continue to foster a stronger defence partnership with India.
The statement comes after the US Embassy in India dismissed a report published by US-based POLITICO stating US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti said relations between Washington and New Delhi can “get worse” in the wake of the diplomatic row between India and Canada over the killing of Khalistani activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder said, “We very much appreciate our relationship with India on a defence level. We continue to foster a stronger defence partnership with India and that is something that I think you'll continue to see us do going forward,” Ryder told reporters.
In 1997, defence trade between India and the US was almost negligible, today it stands above USD 20 billion.
Speaking to reporters at a news conference, Ryder termed China a “pacing challenge” for the Department of Defence. “We do appreciate the partnership that we have with India and other countries in the Indo-Pacific region when it comes to preserving individual nations' sovereignty and abiding by the international rules-based order that has preserved peace and stability for many years,” he said.
Last month, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had accused India of being involved in the killing of Nijjar on Canadian soil. The Khalistani leader was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18 this year.
In the follow-up to the development, an article published in POLITICO on October 3 stated, “Garcetti told his in-country team that, because of the diplomatic spat with Canada, relations between India and the U.S. could get worse for a time,” quoting a US State Department official as saying. "Garcetti also has said the U.S. may need to reduce its contacts with Indian officials for an undefined period of time,” the Politico report stated further.
Further the report stated that when asked to comment on the matter, a US Department spokesperson echoed the words of the US Embassy spokesperson: “Ambassador Garcetti is a champion of our strong partnership with the Indian people and the Indian government. Our relationship with India is an important, strategic, and consequential partnership.”
The US raised concerns over Canada’s allegations and called for a full and fair investigation urging India to cooperate in the probe. “We are obviously quite concerned about the situation in Canada and we have cooperated closely with our Canadian counterparts. We have urged India to cooperate in the investigation and we’ll continue to do so," said US Department of State Spokesperson Matthew Miller.
“India remains an important partner to the US and we work with them on a number of issues, but on this matter, we urge them to cooperate with the Canadian investigation,” he added.