Former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley reiterated the importance of rebuilding the US-India relationship to counter China. In a post on X, Haley said, “To face China, the United States must have a friend in India.”
She said, “India must take Trump's point over Russian oil seriously, and work with the White House to find a solution. The sooner the better”, according to the Times of India.
Haley noted that “navigating issues like trade disagreements and Russian oil imports demands hard dialogue.”
"But, we should not lose sight of what matters most: our shared goals," Nikki Haley and Bill Drexel of the Hudson Institute said in an opinion piece published in the Newsweek.
"Decades of friendship and good will between the world's two largest democracies provide a solid basis to move past the current turbulence," Haley added.
Earlier on August 22, Haley said the rise of a democratic India "does not threaten the free world."
"Partnership between the US and India to counter China should be a no-brainer. It would serve America's interests to help India stand up to China," she had posted on X.
Haley and Drexel emphasised that “decades of friendship and good will between the world's two largest democracies provide a solid basis to move past the current turbulence... Navigating challenging issues like trade disagreements and Russian oil imports demand hard dialogue, but difficult conversations are often the sign of a deepening partnership.”
She stressed, "India and China are unfriendly neighbors that have conflicting economic interests and ongoing territorial disputes, including a lethal skirmish over contested borders as recently as 2020. It would serve America's interests to help India stand up to its increasingly aggressive northern neighbour, both economically and militarily... The sooner the better."
Haley underlined India's strategic role, stating, "In the short term, India is essential in helping the United States move its critical supply chains away from China... India stands alone in its potential to manufacture at China-like scale for products that can't be quickly or efficiently produced here, like textiles, inexpensive phones, and solar panels."
