India, China, US should together resolve global issues

Washington: As the 21st century advances there are fewer global problems that would be resolved without the constructive cooperation and consensus among the US, China and India, a top Obama Administration official said on Friday. “Let me explicitly state that the 21st century Asia-Pacific we seek is one in which India, the United States, and China all enjoy good relations,” Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns said in his remarks at the World Affairs Councils of America National Conference. [caption id=“attachment_124011” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“As the 21st century advances there are fewer global problems that would be resolved without the constructive cooperation and consensus among the US, China and India, a top Obama Administration official said. AFP”]  [/caption] “Whatever our differences, we know that, as this century advances, fewer and fewer global problems will be solvable without constructive cooperation amongst our three great countries. To paraphrase India’s National Security Advisor, I have no doubt that Asia and the world are big enough for the three of us — if we want them to be,” Burns said. Soon to be the world’s most populous country and already the world’s biggest democracy, with an economy likely to be the world’s third largest within two decades, India’s rise will reshape the international system, he said. US President Barack Obama has said that India will be “one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century.” “We also want it to be one of the defining partnerships in the Asia-Pacific,” Burns said. “India has already a powerful economic and cultural presence in East Asia, and has built a vast network of economic agreements and security arrangements with partners like Japan, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam. India’s outreach is growing toward a comprehensive vision for the East Asia region — a Look East policy that is becoming an Act East policy,” he said. That’s why, last year, the two countries launched a strategic dialogue on the Asia-Pacific to ensure that the world’s two largest democracies pursue strategies that reinforce one another. “And we are launching a new US-India-Japan trilateral consultation on regional issues,” he said. “We hope that India will join us in working to strengthen Asia’s many regional institutions — from the East Asia Summit to ASEAN, where India already trades nearly as much in goods as it does with the United States. An architecture of free trade and investment that connects India to Southeast and East Asia will have a profound impact on global trade and economic growth,” Burns said. PTI