Ritu Jha-
India impressed the United States with its handling of recent elections, and the nation will enjoy U.S. support in any border disputes with China over the Arunachal Pradesh area, U.S. Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti recently indicated at a conference in California.
Garcetti mentioned both developments in the broader context of India-U.S. relations while delivering the keynote address at the Asia Society of Northern California’s “Envision India 2024” conference. Garcetti told the largely Indian American crowd that although the two nations have differences, they remain very close partners.
In India’s General Election June 4, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party lost seats, meaning it will need to rely on coalition-building to advance its agenda for the first time in its 10 years of power.
“Voters always surprise us,” Garcetti told Indica. “The unexpected happens in a democracy, and that’s important about democracy. We certainly have experienced it in our democracy, and we have our own election later this year. Democracy is not only alive and well in India, we saw the way that voting machines were taken to mountain tops on donkey back. To see that was, to me, very reassuring.”
Garcetti, who has political experience as former district attorney for Los Angeles, said it’s a “miracle” when a nation as large as India, with multiple parties, can smoothly carry out an election.
“And the good thing is that the number of people who voted in absolute numbers and percentages in India was breathtaking,” he said. “India and all parties are to be commended for helping bring out that vote and executing the most impressive elections in the world.”
Beijing last year angered New Delhi when it announced new Chinese names for 30 areas in the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. China claims the territory has belonged to it since ancient times.
The United States quickly condemned the Chinese posturing. On the sidelines of the conference, indica asked Garcetti to elaborate.
Garcetti asserted that India and the United States want stable relations in Asia.
“We don’t want war,” he said. “We don’t want to provoke war. We would like to see the calming of the waters, and we support India. We’ve recognized that border for decades. I announced that in Arunachal Pradesh. We might get protests about that, but it is what it is. That’s our policy and will continue to be in support of India. India is the closest of partners for the United States.”
Garcetti said India and the United States share a similar outlook and feeling about the world as its two largest democracies.
“Both nations want a free, open Indo-Pacific region. That has to be about deterrence, investment, and hard work with mutual allies and partners that I think we have found in this past year.”
Of course, no two allies agree on everything. India has sided more with Russia in its war against Ukraine.
“We respect that there are different relationships. We’re going to be uncompromising about Russia’s unwarranted invasion of Ukraine. But in G20 nations, there are countries we have less influence on, India can talk to them, whether quietly or overtly, and vice versa. The US can talk to nations that India may have less influence with. And when we do that, as two friends, we can deliver much more than we could ever do on our own.”
In pondering the U.S.-India relationship moving into the future, Garcetti said the two nations’ heads and hearts are united, but he asked whether their feet are united as well.
“Can we move two very different bureaucracies that act differently? Can we figure out the ways to move forward?” he said. “I’m very hopeful that we will.”
Let us recognize the depth of our friendship … and find those principles that will redefine this as the greatest chapter, not just in US-Indian history, but a contribution that will be a much more hopeful chapter for our earth. God knows we need it.”
