Uniting States: Modi stresses on US-India ties to dispel dark clouds over APAC

PM Narendra Modi addresses a joint meeting of Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, on June 22, 2023. Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are also seen. (PTI Photo)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has warned that dark clouds of coercion and confrontation were casting their shadow over the Indo Pacific, and the stability of the region has become one of the central concerns of the Indo-American partnership.

“We share a vision of a free, open, and inclusive Indo Pacific, connected by secure seas, defined by international law, free from domination, and anchored in ASEAN centrality,” Modi said while addressing the joint session of the US Congress.

He did not name China but it was clear who his remarks were directed at.

The Prime Minister, who is on his first state visit to the US, held detailed discussions with US President Joe Biden and members of his administration yesterday to further deepen and strengthen the partnership.

The two sides signed a host of agreements to enhance cooperation in defence, security, investment, trade, education, culture, high-tech, and space.

But support of the US Congress is essential to implement many of the agreements.

Modi had to convince US lawmakers from both the Democratic and the Republican parties that a strong partnership with India benefits them.

“Today, the world wants to know more and more about India. I see that curiosity in this house. Everyone wants to understand India's development, democracy, and diversity. Everyone wants to know what India is doing,” Modi said.

Highlighting India’s attraction as an investment destination and a potential manufacturing hub, the Prime Minister pointed out how such investments and strong trade ties with India benefits the US as it generates millions of jobs across America as well.

But the US lawmakers were also keen to know about India’s position on China. The growing assertion of China in the Indo-Pacific has become a serious concern for the US, especially over Taiwan. India is also locked in a military face-off with China at the border since May 2020.

Modi explained what a free and open Indo Pacific meant — a region where all nations, small and large, are free and fearless in their choices, where progress is not “suffocated by impossible burdens of debt” and where connectivity is not “leveraged for strategic purposes.”

The alleged ‘debt-trap’ caused by huge Chinese loans to countries in the region under its multi-billion-Dollar mega-infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), has been a major concern.

Modi reiterated India’s commitment to the Quadrilateral Strategic Dialogue — the Quad — and said it is a “major force for good for the region.”

Modi clarified that the aim was not to contain China’s rise. “Our vision does not seek to contain or exclude, but to build a cooperative region of peace and prosperity,’’ he said.

The Prime Minister also had to clarify India’s stand on Ukraine. It is the only partner of the US that has not condemned Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, an issue that continues to rankle a large section of the American establishment.

Modi said India stood for peaceful resolution of disputes, and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.

He said the war was causing great pain in the region and reiterated that this was “not an era of war but of dialogue and diplomacy.”

He added that all countries should do whatever they can to stop the violence and bloodshed, emphasising that among the worst victims of the conflict was the Global South.

He stressed on the need for making the African Union a permanent member of the G20 so that they can be part of the decision-making on key issues affecting poor nations.

The Indian Prime Minister also took the opportunity to call out Pakistan for not doing enough to take action against terrorists who continue to operate from its soil.

He pointed out that decades after 9/11 and the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, “radicalism and terrorism” continue to remain a pressing danger for the whole world.

In the run-up to the Prime Minister’s visit there were concerns in various quarters in the US about India’s backsliding on democratic principles and the rights of minorities.

Modi spent a substantial part of his address explaining the diverse nature of Indian society. “We are home to all faiths in the world, and we celebrate all of them. In India, diversity is a natural way of life,” he said.

He pointed out that there were 2,500 political parties, and about 20 different parties govern various states. He added that India has 22 official languages and that its cuisine changes every hundred miles.

Modi said that when he first visited the US as Prime Minister, India was the 10th largest economy in the world. Today it is in fifth place, and will soon be the third largest.

He also listed out the transformation of India in the past decade in infrastructure, telecommunication, digital commerce, and health and medicine.

He said: “We are not only growing bigger but we are also growing faster,” adding that, “When India grows, the whole world grows. After all, we are one-sixth of the world’s population.’’

On the future of a strong US-India partnership, Modi said, “Together, we shall give a better future to the world, and a better world to the future.”