Indicating that the United States would avoid taking sides in South Asian conflicts, the State Department has said Washington has always been cautious about addressing Pakistan-India issues as it does not want to escalate tensions.
“I think that we are always very cautious about addressing those issues, not wanting to contribute to any additional tensions,” State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said.
She was responding to a question by a journalist at the daily briefing, when asked if the U.S. would be prepared to take sides in the face of India-Pakistan tensions.
The question was raised in the backdrop of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson who said the U.S. and India have dramatically deepened their relationship and that both countries shared security concerns.
“So does it mean that next time when India is in conflict with other countries, like Pakistan, India will get full support of the U.S. or –?” the journalist asked in reference to frequent exchange of fire between Pakistani and Indian troops in the disputed Kashmir region and also along their border.
“Wow. Okay, I don’t think I’d go that far. The Secretary gave a speech yesterday in which he talked about so many of the common interests that we share with the Indian people and also the Indian Government,” she said.
The spokesperson explained the comments in the context of recent meetings between U.S. and Indian leaders including a terrifice meeting between between President Donald Trump Prime Minister Modi.
“There’s a lot of work that we can do together with India, whether it’s military exercises, as you’ve seen earlier this year that we conducted with India and a few other countries as well, to intelligence and counterterrorism, to infrastructure work that they are participating in in Afghanistan, which we are very grateful to. There are a lot of economic ties. We have a lot of Indian Americans here in the United States and we have so many Indian students who are studying here in the United States.
“So I think the Secretary was really trying to underscore the importance of that relationship with India and recognizing that we have a lot of areas where we can – where we have mutual cooperation.”
Secretary Tillerson will make his first visit to South Asia next week following up on the President’s August the 21st speech outlining the administration’s comprehensive strategy toward the region, the spokesperson revealed.
In Islamabad, the Secretary will meet with senior Pakistani leaders to “discuss our continued bilateral cooperation, Pakistan’s critical role in the success of our South Asia strategy, and the expanding economic ties between our two countries.”
“In meetings with the prime minister, foreign minister, and senior military officials, Secretary Tillerson will discuss our joint efforts to fight terrorist groups that threaten regional peace and stability and how Pakistan can support our effort to reach a peaceful solution in Afghanistan.”
Tillerson will also visit New Delhi to “hold consultations with the ministry of external affairs and other government leaders from India to discuss the implementation of the ideas he outlined yesterday in his speech at CSIS defining our relationship with India for the next century.”
