For the second day in succession, the US conveyed its understanding of India’s response to the Pahalgam terror assault with Vice-President J D Vance saying his nation hopes it won’t result in a “broader regional battle” — and that the US expects Islamabad to “cooperate” with New Delhi to “search out” terrorists “typically working from their soil”.
Vance is the newest senior consultant of the US administration, after Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, to spell out the US line on the fear assault that killed 26 individuals. Vance and his household have been in India on a four-day go to when the assault — the worst since Pulwama in 2019 —came about in J&Ok on April 22.
Requested on the Fox Information present, ‘Particular Report with Bret Baier’, if he was “apprehensive about India and Pakistan”, Vance stated, “Properly, positive, I’m apprehensive about any time you see a hotspot breaking out, particularly between two nuclear powers.”
Declaring that the US has “clearly been in shut contact with our buddies in India and Pakistan”, the Vice-President stated, “Our hope right here is that India responds to this terrorist assault in a approach that doesn’t result in a broader regional battle.”
Vance stated, “And we hope, frankly, that Pakistan, to the extent that they’re accountable, cooperates with India to ensure that the terrorists typically working of their territory are hunted down and handled. That’s how we hope this unfolds, we’re clearly in shut contact. We’ll see what occurs.”
Vance’s statements assume significance within the backdrop of US Defence Secretary Hegseth’s name Thursday with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Underlining the “robust assist” of the US in India’s struggle in opposition to terrorism, Hegseth advised Singh that Washington stands in solidarity with New Delhi and “helps India’s proper to defend itself”.
The decision between Singh and Hegseth got here hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to Exterior Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. In that decision, Jaishankar stated “the perpetrators, backers and planners of the Pahalgam terrorist assault have to be delivered to justice”.
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Statements from the Jaishankar-Rubio and the Hegseth-Singh calls and now Vance’s assertion recommend assist from the US, in tune with US President Donald Trump’s preliminary remarks on “either side figuring it out”. Trump was additionally the primary world chief to name up Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was in Saudi Arabia when the assault came about.
India is viewing these statements in a “constructive method”, because it weighs choices on how to reply to the assault past diplomatic measures, sources stated, including that Washington’s expression of assist provides confidence to New Delhi on the following steps.
Talking on commerce talks with India within the interview with Fox Information, Vance stated “good negotiations” have been at present on. India is among the many international locations negotiating with the US to keep away from excessive import taxes, most of them on pause proper now. “Modi, the Prime Minister, is a tricky negotiator, however we’re going to rebalance that relationship, and that’s why the President’s doing what he’s doing,” Vance stated.
Requested if a take care of India was the primary one “coming by way of”, Vance stated, “I don’t know if it’ll be your first deal, I feel it could be among the many first offers for positive. Fairly quickly, the President… look, we’ve received negotiations with Japan, with Korea, we’ve received negotiations occurring with some people in Europe, and clearly we’ve received an excellent negotiation occurring in India.”
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On April 2, Trump had introduced sweeping reciprocal tariffs on quite a few international locations, together with India and China. Nevertheless, on April 9, he introduced a 90-day suspension of those tariffs till July 9, apart from these on China and Hong Kong, as about 75 international locations approached America for commerce offers.
Nevertheless, the ten per cent baseline tariff imposed on these international locations on April 2 stay in impact, apart from the 25 per cent duties on metal, aluminium, and auto elements.
“What the President has stated is, we simply need to rebalance commerce. So a few of the conversations I’ve had in India, for instance, I feel most Individuals could not know, could not respect this, we’ve got nice agricultural merchandise,” Vance stated.
“Our farmers are making nice issues, however the Indian market is successfully closed off to American farmers. So what which means is that it makes American farmers and American shoppers extra reliant on international opponents to develop the meals that we eat,” he stated.
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“What our India deal will do, essentially, I feel, is open up India to American expertise. It’s going to open up India to American farmers. It’s going to create extra good American jobs. And it’s the type of commerce deal that Donald Trump loves… He (Trump) isn’t anti-trade. He’s anti-unfair commerce. He’s not totally the type of commerce the place international opponents reap the benefits of us, the Indians, let’s be sincere, they’ve taken benefit of us for a really very long time,” Vance stated.