Asa top US lawmaker dealing with foreign relations asked Defence Secretary GeneralLloyd Austin to specifically raise democracy and human rights concerns in hisdiscussions with the Indian government on his visit to New Delhi, the latter onSaturday, at a news conference in Delhi informed that he had a conversationwith Indian Minsiters about the human rights of minorities in the country.
Besidesissues like information sharing, cooperation in emerging sectors of defence,and mutual logistics support etc were discussed.
Hesaid it is important for two partner countries to have such discussions inorder to maintain strong, sustainable US-India relations.
Whenhe was asked if he had spoken with Prime Minister Narendra Modi about"violations of human rights especially against Muslim minorities in thenortheast", General Austin said, "I did not have an opportunity totalk with him about that. I did have a conversation with other members of thecabinet on this issue”, quoted NDTV.
Addressingthe media, he said that you people might have heard US Presient Joe Bidensaying that human rights and rule of law are very important to the UnitedStates of America. “We always lead with our values. As a democracy that'spretty important to us. India is a democratic country and you treasure yourvalues as well. There are a number of things that we can and will work ontogether," he said.
Earlierthis, Lloyd Austin tweeted that his discussions in India would centre oncooperating to face "most pressing challenges" in the Indo-Pacificregion where China's aggressive actions, from the Himalayas to the South ChinaSea are on the rise.
Austinis on a three-day visit to India starting Friday. Upon arrival, he had metPrime Minister Narendra Modi and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Beforearriving in India, Austin had visited Japan and South Korea.
Inaddition, India and the US share close defence cooperation with Washingtonauthorising over $20 billion in defence sales to India.
Austinmet Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and US Defence Secretary Lloyd JamesAustin on Saturday and their talks mainly focussed on defence cooperation andexpanding military-to-military engagement across services.
"Wehad a comprehensive and fruitful discussion with Secretary Austin and hisdelegation. We are keen to work together to realise the full potential of theIndia-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership," Singh said after themeeting.
Austinalso expressed condolences for the tragic accident that killed an Indian AirForce pilot earlier this week.
"Ourhearts go out to his family and friends. His death reminds us of the risks ourbrave service men and women take each day to defend our democracies, ourpeople, and our way of life," Austin said.
TheUS Defence Secretary said that he had a productive discussion on a number ofsecurity issues which are important to both the countries.
Hefurther added that Prime Minister Narendra has stated that India stands for"freedom of navigation and overflight, unimpeded lawful commerce, and adherenceto international law".
"Thisis a resounding affirmation of our shared vision for regional security in theIndo-Pacific," he said.
Laterin the day during a presser at the US Embassy in the national capital, Austinsaid that they never thought India and China were at the threshold of a war dueto the tensions in Ladakh.
"Indiaand US will continue to work with like-minded countries and that is the way tocounter any challenge," he said.