The Biden administration has released a key policy document that calls for increased cooperation of the US with democracies and like-minded states, including India, to combat shared challenges, particularly climate change, pandemics, and economic turbulence.
The National Security Strategy, released on Wednesday, underscored the importance of a revitalized Quad, which brings the US together with other members of the grouping to deal with regional challenges and deliver results for the Indo-Pacific region.
“From the Indo-Pacific Quad to the US-EU Trade and Technology Council, from AUKUS (Australia, United Kingdom, United States) to I2U2, we are creating a latticework of strong, resilient, and mutually reinforcing relationships that prove democracies can deliver for their people and the world,” the document says.
“The revitalized Quad, which brings the United States together with Japan, India, and Australia, addresses regional challenges and has demonstrated its ability to deliver for the Indo-Pacific, combating COVID-19 and climate change, to deepening cybersecurity partnerships and promoting high standards for infrastructure and health security,” it adds.
The key security strategy document is a US foreign policy document that was released by the Biden administration following a delay due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
On the Indo-Pacific, the document states that “India is the world’s largest democracy and a Major Defence Partner, and the United States and India will work together, bilaterally and multilaterally, to support our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
The policy document also underlines China and Russia’s threat posed to the US.
It says both China and Russia, who announced a “no-limits partnership” this year, are increasingly aligned with each other but the challenges they pose are distinct.
“We will prioritize maintaining an enduring competitive edge over the PRC while constraining a still profoundly dangerous Russia,” it adds.
On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the document says Moscow’s “imperialist foreign policy” culminated “in a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in an attempt to topple its government and bring it under Russian control.”
The Biden administration says that Russia now poses an immediate and persistent threat to international peace and stability.
It says Putin’s war has profoundly diminished Russia’s status vis-à-vis China and other Asian powers such as India and Japan.