'Deepening Indo-US ties will shape global balance of power'

The deepening India-US ties are among the most significant strategic developments of the past several years and will shape the global balance of power in the years to come, a senior Obama Administration official has said.
"In South Asia, we're strengthening our security, economic, and people-to-people ties with India. In my view, India's revival and deepening US-India ties are among the most significant strategic developments of the past several years," US Assistant Secretary as well as Bureau of Political-Military Affairs Puneet Talwar said yesterday.
"They will shape the global balance of power for many years to come," the Indian-American diplomat said while addressing a session in San Francisco on US foreign policy priorities in 2015.

He said that as the oldest and largest democracies, the US and India are seeing a natural convergence not only of values, but of "our vision for the future".
Talwar cited President Barack Obama's historic visit to India this year as Chief Guest on the Republic Day in January and said that while India is one of the world's oldest civilisations, it has the world's most young people, with a median age of 27 and 600 million people under the age of 25.
On China, Talwar said Washington seeks a relationship with Beijing defined by "practical and tangible cooperation" on challenges that both the nations face and that strengthening US relationship with China is part and parcel of the rebalance of global cooperation.

Citing the example of the joint announcement last year by the US and China to limit greenhouse gases, Talwar said "the more we can work together, and be seen as working together, the better chance we have in tackling some of the world's most daunting challenges".

Touching upon the contentious South China Sea (SCS) issue, he said that with nearly half the world's maritime commerce flowing through it every year, one can imagine the "global ripple effects" if the SCS or Malacca Strait - central arteries of international trade system - "were choked off".
"That's why the United States is playing a leading role in the effort to uphold regional and maritime security in Asia, which underpins the global economy," he added.

Talwar said California is the perfect example of why Asia's future and America's future are bound together. Since 2009, California's exports to Asia are up nearly 50 per cent.
California also exports more to India and Japan than any other State, he said, adding that five of the top seven export markets for the US State are in Asia.
He pointed out that to build on that progress, one of the highest priorities this year for the US is to complete the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, which would open new markets and set high standards on labour and the environment for 12 countries, which together account for almost 40 per cent of global GDP.