Joint work in APAC, defining dimension of Indo-US partnership

Joint efforts to promote regional security and political and economic openness in the Asia- Pacific are gradually becoming a "defining dimension" of the Indo-US partnership, a top US diplomat has said.

"I remain convinced that as we look at the next two decades and beyond, our strategic interests will remain far more aligned than not," Deputy Secretary of State, William Burns, said in his keynote address at the launch of the Asia Society Policy Institute in New York.

"This is especially true in the Asia-Pacific, where our joint-efforts to promote regional security and political and economic openness are gradually becoming a defining dimension of our partnership," Burns said.

In his key note address Burns said, no partnership has undergone a greater transformation over the past couple of decades than the relationship with India.

"In addition to our annual Strategic Dialogue, we've also embarked on a series of efforts to identify practical areas of cooperation across East Asia, including through our trilateral with Japan and our East Asia consultations, the latest round of which concluded at the end of March in Washington," he said.

Burns said no bilateral relationship in the 21st century is likely to matter more than the ties between China and the US.

"History is full of examples of collisions between rising and established powers. But there is nothing preordained about this. Our economies are inescapably intertwined. And neither of us can solve the great challenges of our time - from climate change to proliferation - unless we work together.

"Building a cooperative partnership with China is therefore a hugely important goal for the United States," he said, adding that a true partnership is one in which they can discuss their differences openly, not sweep them under the rug.

"And whether it's on human rights, maritime disputes, or government-sponsored cyber-enabled economic theft, we raise issues of concern candidly and consistently with the Chinese," he said.

Climate change, he said, is going to be one of the key aspect of America's relationship with India and China.