US Ambassador Eric Garcetti described Indo-US ties as “not an additive relationship but a multiplicative relationship” and criticised China for renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh.
Stating that China has no business renaming places that are part of India’s territory, Garcetti fully backed New Delhi and said its defence cooperation with Washington was reaching unprecedented levels so as to deter aggressive authoritarian rival countries. As two democracies, the US and India thought and felt alike about the threat posed by dictatorial regimes like that of China and that the convergence of values was the key factor driving Washington and New Delhi closer.
During an interactive session with students of the Sonepat-based OP Jindal University, Garcetti also took questions regarding comments made by US officials about internal developments in India. “The US is a unique democracy where every branch of government, the news media and civil society has its own views and opinions about different countries. These opinions are frequently aired publicly as part of the open American political system,” he explained.
Garcetti claimed that the US was ready to also take criticism from other countries as part of this liberal ethos.