US-India Economic, Defense Ties Strengthens amid China's Rise - Tillerson

US-India economic and defense ties should be strengthen, given China's gradual rise to power, according to Tillerson.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that the Trump administration aimed to “dramatically deepen” its cooperation with India, laying out a vision of strategy of a tighter military, trading, and diplomatic partnership.

Tillerson issued the comment two weeks ahead of US president Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing.

“We think we have wisely chosen a partner in India for a strategic relationship,” said Tillerson in a gathering at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He added that the administration was determined to strengthen its relationship with India, which he predicted to be the world’s second largest economy by 2050, surpassing Beijing.

China has recently reported a robust economic growth in the third quarter, although it also indicated a slowdown compared with its second quarter.

Tillerson also said that the United States has already begun discussing the creation of alternatives to Chinese infrastructure financing in Asia, further building up India’s role as a possible solution to its long-standing war with Afghanistan and its looming concerns over China’s rise to power.

In another statement, Tillerson stated that Washington was also reaching out to other countries to join the US-India-Japan security cooperation, which China has attempted to oppose, thinking that democratic countries were ganging up against it.

“The United States seeks constructive relations with China, but we will not shrink from China’s challenges to the rules-based order and where China subverts the sovereignty of neighboring countries and disadvantages the US and our friends,” said Tillerson.

Tillerson went further and tagged China as a “non-democratic society,” adding that he did not want the Indo-Pacific region to become a hostage to disorder, conflict, and “predatory economies.”

India has been called for a larger role in Asia, with Tillerson saying that the US and India should have the world’s two greatest militaries.

“India and the United States should be in the business of equipping other countries to defend their sovereignty, build greater connectivity, and have a louder voice in a regional architecture that promotes their interests and develops their economies,” said Tillerson.

China as a Challenge

Tillerson’s remarks about China came after Joseph Dunford, who is the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Congress that China will be posing the greatest threat to the United States by the year 2025.

China has been locking horns with the US in recent years, preventing the US and other countries from ganging up against it.

Commander of US Pacific Command Admiral Harry Harris also labeled China as a “challenge” in one lecture in Singapore. Harris has called out China to quit from giving “provocative actions” in the East China Sea and the South China Sea. These comments have been echoed by Tillerson.

Tillerson accused China of repeated undermining of the international rules-based order in the South China Sea, resurrecting an issue that seemed to disappear for a while since the tension between the US and North Korea intensified.

India’s status received an elevated level as the US designated it as a major defense partner. Tillerson has said that Washington has provided New Delhi a menu of defense options, such as guardian UAVs, an unarmed naval drone, F16 and F18 partners, and aircraft carrier technology.

“It’s all to improve their capabilities to play this important security role that we know that they want to play in the region,” added Tillerson.

On the other hand, foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said that China has been hoping that the United States could abandon bias when viewing its actions.

“China will never develop itself at the expense of other countries. At the same time we will never give up our justly deserved rights and interests,” said Lu on a Thursday briefing.

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