President Joe Biden spoke to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, with leaders of the world’s two largest democracies agreeing to strengthen their nations’ partnership at a time when both countries are struggling with strained relations with China.
India is in the midst of a 9-month military standoff with China along the controversial border in East Ladakh. Tens of thousands of soldiers face each other at points of friction in the region in freezing temperatures. At the same time, Biden is determined to deviate from former President Donald Trump’s warm and cold relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Trump has alternately advocated Beijing and flattered Beijing, pushed for a major trade deal, and downplayed China’s efforts to suppress pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong. Trump also initially assured Americans that China was “ very well under control ” of the coronavirus before later blaming the Chinese government – often using xenophobic language – for being responsible for the worst public health crisis in the US in more than a century.
The White House said in a statement that Biden and Modi “agreed to continue the close cooperation to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific,” adding that the leaders “have decided that the rule of law and the democratic process must be maintained “in Myanmar, days after a military coup in the Southeast Asian nation.
Biden and Modi are no strangers. As a senator, Biden was a major advocate of the civilian nuclear deal between the countries in 2008.
The 2008 nuclear deal paved the way for the delivery of high-tech equipment from the US that India wanted along with the technology. The accord ended India’s isolation after conducting nuclear tests in 1998 and refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The United States is also backing India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a move that has been blocked by China.
Modi wrote on Twitter wishing Biden good luck in launching his administration.
“President @JoeBiden and I are committed to a rules-based international order. We look forward to consolidating our strategic partnership to promote peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond, ”tweeted Modi.
Modi also had a warm relationship with Trump.
Trump made a two-day visit to India last year, weeks before the pandemic shut up much of the world, including a raucous rally in a 110,000-seat cricket stadium. The Republican President hosted Modi in the US in 2019, a visit that included a trip to Houston that drew about 50,000 people, many from the great Indian diaspora in the US.
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Associated Press writer Ashok Sharma in New Delhi contributed to this report.