The challenges posed by China to both India and the US were on the agenda for talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden, but the India leader's state visit was not about China, the White House National Security Council (NSC) Spokesperson said.
John Kirby, the spokesperson, went on to call India an "exporter of security" increasingly and, he added on Friday that the US welcomes that and that would explain to an extent a lot of the deliverables announced by the two sides.
Kirby pushed back to the question if the US was looking at India as a counterweight against China.
"This state visit wasn't about China and, look India has challenges with China as well, right on their doorstep but also more broadly in the region," he said in response to a question at the daily White House briefing.
"Clearly, the challenges presented by the PRC (short for China's official name, the People's Republic of China) to both our nations were on the agenda yesterday. No question about that. But this wasn't about leveraging India to be some sort of counterweight."
Prime Minister Modi and President Biden met and spoke publicly several times on Thursday, but neither of them mentioned China -- except when Biden was asked about his comments earlier about the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping -- and the joint statement doesn't name China either. But they did speak about the need to keep the Indo-Pacific region free and open, from coercion and unilateral actions, which, and they did not say it, is usually a barely veiled reference to China.
The NSC spokesperson went on to say: "India is a sovereign, independent state, they have their own foreign policy that they have to manage and they live in a tough neighbourhood."
"They are becoming an increasing exporter of security, which we welcome, and you can see a lot of our desire to improve the defence cooperation on hand yesterday in some of the deliverables -- whether it's co production of jet engines, whether it's their purchase of MQ-9 drones, there's a lot we can do in the security front together, and that's really what we are focussed on."
When pressed if the US doesn't see a role for India in its -- America's -- competition with China, Kirby said, "I didn't say that. I said that we were not viewing India as a counterweight to China and we weren't approaching the state visit as some sort of messaging opportunity to China."
"It was about sending a message to the American people and the Indian people about how important this bilateral relationship is, quite frankly, to people around the world."
The Spokesperson reiterated India has its own challenges with China, which they are tackling "largely on their own".
Bhavan’s Little Learners celebrate annual programme
The Bhavan’s Little Learners, Bordowali celebrated annual programme and organised prize distribution ceremony here at Agartala Rabindra Satabarshiki Bhavan on Wednesday.
Govt working to boost agricultural production to make Tripura self-reliant: Minister Ratan Lal Nath
The Tripura government is contemplating to make Tripura self-reliant in agricultural production, said agriculture minister Ratan Lal Nath on Wednesday.
Scholarship Fraud: Tribal Welfare Dept issues show cause to 34 students
In a major crackdown on scholarship fraud, the Tripura Tribal Welfare Department has issued show cause notices to 34 students for allegedly submitting fake income certificates to avail the Scheduled Tribe (ST) Post-Matric Scholarship for the academic year 2023-24.
Fall of Congress in Gujarat: Three decades of decline and struggle for relevance
The Congress party was once the dominant political force in Gujarat, shaping the state’s governance since independence. However, over the past 30 years, the party has witnessed a dramatic downfall, losing ground to the BJP’s aggressive electoral strategies, organisational strength, and ideological appeal.
‘Disempowering Muslims’: J&K political parties oppose Waqf (Amendment) Bill
All political parties of J&K, except the BJP, opposed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, saying that the Bill is intended to disempower Muslims and only target one religion.
Radical group founder wanted in Jaipur serial blast plot apprehended in Ratlam
The Madhya Pradesh Police in Ratlam achieved a significant breakthrough in apprehending Firoz, also known as Sabji, a fugitive implicated in a conspiracy to execute serial blasts aimed at creating panic and terrorising the Rajasthan capital city of Jaipur.
Amit Shah & Akhilesh Yadav’s lighter exchange in LS over party president
Amid the uproar and heated debate between the ruling party and the Opposition over the Waqf Amendment Bill on Wednesday, the Lok Sabha witnessed some lighter moments between Home Minister Amit Shah and SP President Akhilesh Yadav.
Waqf Bill weakens Constitution, defames minorities, divides society: Gaurav Gogoi
As Parliament debated the contentious Waqf Amendment Bill, 2025, on Wednesday, deputy leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi came down heavily on the government.