Biden speaks to PM Modi, stresses defence of democratic norms and strong regional ties

This was their first conversation after Biden assumed office last month

Even as he agreed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to continue close US-India cooperation in Indo-Pacific, the new American President Joseph R Biden underscored during the first call with his counterpart in New Delhi that his administration would defend democratic institutions and norms around the world.

Modi and Biden spoke over a phone late on Monday – three weeks after the change of guard at the White House in Washington DC. They agreed to continue “close cooperation to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific, including support for freedom of navigation, territorial integrity, and a stronger regional architecture through the Quad,” according to a readout issued by the White House early Tuesday. They further resolved that the rule of law and the democratic process must be upheld in Myanmar, where the military of late taken over power, questioning the legitimacy of the re-election of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League of Democracy to power.

During his phone call with the Prime Minister, the US President “underscored his desire to defend democratic institutions and norms around the world” and noted that “a shared commitment to democratic values” was “the bedrock for the US-India relationship”.

The stress on defending democratic norms in the White House statement on Biden-Modi phone call was significant as it came close on the heels of a statement issued by the US State Department, subtly criticising the way the Government of India was dealing with the protest by the farmers against the new agricultural laws.

Also read — Farm laws to improve efficiency of India's markets: US amid ongoing protest

The US State Department noted that “peaceful protests” were a “hallmark of any thriving democracy”. It added that unhindered access to information, including the internet, was fundamental to the freedom of expression. The statement was issued after local authorities shut down internet access for the agitating farmers camping on the border of the national capital of India.

India, US, Australia and Japan had first launched the 'Quad' in 2007, but the initiative had fizzled out very soon. The four nations, however, relaunched the 'Quad' in Manila in November 2017 – ostensibly to create a bulwark of democratic nations to counter expansionist moves of China in the Indo-Pacific region.

Modi and Biden reiterated the “importance of working with like-minded countries to ensure a rules-based international order and a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region,” according to a separate statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi. The two leaders discussed at length the “regional developments and the wider geopolitical context”, the MEA added, apparently indicating that the Prime Minister and the US President had exchanged views on growing belligerence of China, not only along its Line of Actual Control with India, but also in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, East China Sea, Taiwan Strait and elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific.

They noted that the India-US partnership was “firmly anchored in a shared commitment to democratic values and common strategic interests”.

The senior diplomats of the four nations had several meetings ever since the uad was re-launched. It was elevated to the level of Foreign Ministers when the then US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, hosted his counterparts from Japan, Australia and India on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2019. Pompeo and the foreign ministers of the three other nations – S Jaishankar of India, Maris Payne of Australia and Toshimitsu Motegi of Japan – had another meeting in Tokyo on October 6 last year.

But the Trump administration’s move to formalise and expand the ‘Quad’ and turn it into a NATO-like bloc for the Indo-Pacific region did not succeed, as not only India, but Australia and Japan too were not yet ready to go the whole hog and overtly gang up with the US against China.

The Biden administration recently proposed to further elevate the ‘Quad’ with a virtual meeting of the leaders of the four nations. New Delhi is cautiously studying the proposal.

The Prime Minister and the US President affirmed the importance of addressing the challenge of global climate change.

Modi welcomed Biden's decision to re-commit to the Paris Agreement and highlighted the ambitious targets India has set for itself in the area of renewable energy. The prime minister also welcomed the US President’s initiative to organise the Climate Leaders Summit in April this year and looked forward to participating in the same.

He invited Biden and his wife Dr Jill Biden to visit India at their earliest convenience.