The Wire (New Delhi) — Kurt Campbell, White House Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs, has indicated that Washington is keen to see India diversify away from its “reliance” on Russian military supplies, while another State Department official highlighted the potential threat to the subcontinent posed by China.

Speaking at an event hosted by the Washington DC-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, Campbell noted that “we have stated clearly our interests to help India diversify away from its reliance, largely on Russian military supplies. We work closely with a number of other nations, like-minded nations, that also seek that goal.”

Campbell also stated: “We want to see an India that increasingly operates in the Indo-Pacific in a responsible way, and you see that reflected in a number of engagements with Indian partners… We can hope for and expect in the US-Indian relationship better and bigger things in the future, and I think that includes working more together as partners on the security side as well.”

Campbell’s comments in Washington coincided with a message being delivered by another US diplomat, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu, during an interview with NDTV:

We have not seen China take good faith steps to resolve the border issue. In fact, quite the opposite, with aggressive Chinese moves, most recently in India’s northeast. In 2020, when the Galwan Valley clash happened, the United States was the first to criticize Chinese aggression and offer support to India. The United States will continue to stand with India.

Parallel Goals in New Delhi

These messages from Washington seem to run parallel with at least some the policies emerging in New Delhi.

In a recent interview with StratNewsGlobal, Indian Army chief General Manoj Pande said, “What we realized in the last couple of years is based on what we saw, and may be direct fallout of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the pandemic situation; we realize that we need to become self-reliant. We also need to have robust and more secure supply chains, then only will be able to better handle the security challenges as we move forward.”

At his annual press conference on January 12, Pande revealed that the Army has already carried out an assessment of India’s reliance on Soviet and Russia-origin equipment in its inventory, and it is trying to identify alternative sources for spare parts and ammunition that has been impacted by Moscow’s own supply crunch related to the fighting in Ukraine.

In reference to this supply crunch, Pande acknowledged, “Yes, there has been an impact. We have put out a plan to overcome this, and as we move forward we will be able to overcome this challenge successfully.”

As for the concerns about Chinese military activities, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar recently reaffirmed his line that “on the northern borders, China is seeking to change the status quo by bringing large forces, violating our agreements.”

This article was originally published in The Wire. Edits for style and content.

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