DM Monitoring
WASHINGTON: The White House has strongly declined to include India in a new security alliance comprising the US, UK and Australia, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with President Joe Biden.
The Indian prime minister is in the US to attend the first in-person summit of the Indo-Pacific Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or so-called “Quad” grouping in Washington this week. The US, Japan, India and Australia are part of the alliance.
Responding to a question if countries such as India and Japan would be made part of the new security alliance to meet 21st century challenges in the strategic Indo-Pacific region, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that there is no one else who will be involved in the Indo-Pacific security alliance.”The announcement of AUKUS last week was not meant to be an indication, and I think this is the message the president also sent to (French President Emmanuel) Macron, that there is no one else who will be involved in security in the Indo-Pacific,” Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference on Wednesday, according to international media.
Last week on September 15, US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson jointly announced the formation of the trilateral security alliance AUKUS.
The trilateral security alliance is being seen as an effort to counter China in the Indo-Pacific region. Under this new security partnership, Australia for the first time, would get a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. The alliance will allow the US and the UK to provide Australia with the technology to develop nuclear-powered submarines for the first time.
