Engagement with India key element of Asia Pacific Rebalance: US

Washington: US' Engagement with India is an important element of its Asia pacific rebalances, the White House said on Monday and welcomed India's positive role in ensuring a stable, peaceful and prosperous region.

"US engagement with India in the Asia Pacific and Indian Ocean region is an important element of the Rebalance. We welcome India's positive role in ensuring a stable, peaceful, and prosperous region," the White House said as US President Barack Obama headed to the region for a week-long trip taking him to Malaysia and Philippines.

"As affirmed in the US-India Joint Strategic Vision that the President announced with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January, expanding and deepening US engagement with India in the Asia Pacific and Indian Ocean region is an important element of the Rebalance," the White House said.

As part of its rebalancing strategy, the US is revitalising and maturing its partnerships throughout the region.

"We are working to strengthen cooperation among our allies and partners, leveraging their capabilities to address common regional and global challenges," it said.

Since launching the Rebalance, the Obama Administration has not only strengthened its treaty alliances with Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), and the Philippines, while maintaining our long-standing alliance with Thailand.

It has also deepened partnerships with Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and India, and strengthened its unofficial relationship with the people of Taiwan.

Welcoming the rise of a China that is peaceful, stable, prosperous and a responsible player in intUS' Engagement with India is an important element of its Asia pacific rebalances, the White House said today and welcomed India's positive role in ensuring a stable, peaceful and prosperous region.ernational affairs, the White House said building a constructive relationship with Beijing that simultaneously supports expanding practical cooperation on global issues while candidly addressing differences between them is an important component of the rebalance.

"We support China becoming an increasingly capable and active partner in addressing regional and global challenges, and in working with us and others to strengthen the existing international system of norms, rules, and institutions. The world benefits when China is invested in helping to resolve regional and global problems," the White House said.

"We are encouraging China to move away from a growth model driven by exports and construction to one more reliant on household consumption, and are working to ensure that its economic policies establish a rules-based level playing field consistent with its international obligations," he said.

The US is pursuing joint initiatives in areas of mutual interest such as climate change, global public health, sustainable development, nonproliferation, and countering transnational organised crime.

"At the same time, we are managing the real and complex differences between us in areas such as cyber, market access, maritime security, and human rights - with candor and resolve. China cannot effectively wield influence while selectively opting out of international norms," the White House said.