NEW DELHI: The Biden administration will continue to pursue the Quad concept, in which India is earmarked for a major role, but was non-committal on the disengagement by troops of India and China on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Describing Quad as an example of the US and some of its closest partners “pulling together” for a free and open Indo-Pacific, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the Biden administration would build on the essential momentum imparted by the Trump administration by deepening cooperation in areas of “traditional focus”.
The scope of the Quad would be widened to include besides maritime security, the Covid pandemic, climate change and democratic resilience, said Price while recalling last week’s Quad Ministerial.
“I suspect you will be seeing Secretary Antony Blinken continue to do that in the weeks and months ahead, given the central role of the Quad going forward,” he added.
On India-China troop disengagement, Price said the US was closely following reports and welcomed the ongoing efforts to de-escalate the situation. Asked if China should withdraw its troops from the part of the border where
it has encroached upon, Price remained non-committal. “We’re continuing to monitor the situation. We certainly welcome the reports of de-escalation and we’re closely following those initial reports of troop disengagement,” he repeated.
Price said India’s pharmaceutical sector was strong and well-established and had long played a central role in manufacturing life-saving vaccines for global use. The US was looking forward to signing an overarching MOU to enhance health cooperation with India.
“We are working together on developing diagnostics and therapeutics,” he added.