US assures India of its commitment to strategic partnership

The new US national security adviser John Bolton spoke to his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval on Wednesday to underline continuing US commitment to ties with India.

The US has reassured India about Washington’s commitment to their strategic partnership amid key changes in President Donald Trump’s security and foreign affairs teams.

The new US national security adviser John Bolton spoke to his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval on Wednesday and US ambassador Kenneth Juster met Indian foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale this week, a person familiar with the developments said on Thursday.

The context and content of both conversations were to underline continuing US commitment to ties with India, the person cited above said.

Bolton took office earlier this month replacing H.R. McMaster, while Mike Pompeo, former Central Intelligence Agency chief, is expected to be confirmed as secretary of state in the coming days, taking the place of Rex Tillerson who was fired by Trump in March.

With the departure of Tillerson and McMaster, questions have emerged about how the transition would affect US policy toward South Asia and the Indo-Pacific, and specifically India.

One of the immediate consequences of Tillerson’s departure was the postponement of the India-US ‘2+2’ dialogue —which brings together the US secretaries for defence and state and their Indian counterparts. This dialogue format was to replace the Strategic and Economic Dialogue that was in place under the previous Obama administration.

McMaster was the first member of the Trump security cabinet to visit New Delhi in April last year. During his visit, he reaffirmed the importance of the US-India strategic relationship and India’s designation as a major defence partner—a classification made by the Obama administration.