The US supports India's rise as a capable actor in the region and deepening bilateral defence cooperation is a part of it, an Obama administration official said today.
"Our defence cooperation with India, as you know, is strong. It's a leading pillar of our broad relationship," State Department Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner told reporters.
"We support India's rise as a capable actor in the region, and part of that is deepening our defence cooperation," Toner said.
His comments came as its Defence Secretary Ashton Carter concluded his India visit.
"We support positive, peaceful, stable relations with all countries in the region, and that includes India and China. There's no zero-sum," he said.
In April, Defence Secretary returned to India for an
unprecedented third visit in less than a year.
"There is no country in the world that we are supporting in this manner as an emerging global defense leader. This is unique," the White House official said on the growing India US defence relationship.
"Never in our history we have supported an indigenous aircraft program in any other country," he said.
Lavoy said India US cooperation on counter terrorism has become a crucial pillar of a broader strategic partnership.
This is fitting as the US and India view acts of terrorism as threat to global peace and security but also to their common values of democracy, justice, the rule of law and the protection of every individual.
"The United States has come a long way in security partnership with India. One of the sustaining strength of this relationship is not underpinned by this treaty, but by our common interest and values. It is voluntary and it continues to grow. This strategic logic is simple, it is bipartisan in both nations," he said.
Lavoy said he would like the two countries to adopt more practical collaboration in all domain, in space, in the air, on the sea, under the sea, on land and on multilateral forums, in ways that respects India's sovereignty but also reflects their status as increasingly close partners who tackle problems side by side.
Today India does count in world affairs, but it has taken a long time for India's aspiration to realise, he said as he recollected a 1949 speech of the first Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
"It is the most dynamic relationship that we have today. Each of the things that we are doing enables us to take this to the next level and have to simultaneously work on expanding the partnership in new domain," Lavoy said in response to a question.
"This is a unique relationship worldwide where we can't choose between deepening and broadening. We have to do both simultaneously," he added.
