“This is a matter between the Maldives and India of course,” the U.S. State Department’s Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said at the daily press briefing. File
| Photo Credit: X: Vedant Patel/@StateDeputySpox
The U.S. government, on Tuesday, did not weigh in on Maldives president-elect Mohamed Muiz saying he would fulfil his election promise and begin the process of removing Indian military personnel from the country.
“This is a matter between the Maldives and India of course,” the U.S. State Department’s Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said at the daily press briefing.
“We have never tried to imply one way or the other that any country is required to make any kind of decision about the kinds of exclusionary partnerships that it enters in through its bilateral relationships, whether it be with China or the United States or India or any other country,” Mr. Patel added.
Mr. Muiz is seen as pro-China, unlike the outgoing Maldives president, Mohamed Solih is seen as pro-India.
Also, on Tuesday, the U.S. stuck to its position on the diplomatic discord between Canada and India, over Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegation that New Delhi masterminded the killing of a Canadian Khalistani separatist leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in British Columbia in June this year. Washington has been urging New Delhi to cooperate with Ottawa as it probe’s Mr. Trudeau’s allegation.
Deteriorating Diplomatic Situation between India and Canada Won’t Impact U.S. Focus on Indo Pacific
On Tuesday, Mr. Patel reiterated that the U.S. was “deeply concerned” about Mr. Trudeau’s allegations and that it was “critical that Canada’s investigation” proceed and the perpetrators brought to justice. Privately and publicly, the U.S. government has urged the Indian authorities to cooperate with the investigation, he said.
Earlier on Tuesday, New Delhi had asked 41 Canadian diplomats to leave India by October 10.
Asked if the U.S. was concerned about Canada retaliating by expelling Indian diplomats en masse, Mr. Patel said that he did not want to get into hypotheticals (i.e., about retaliatory action). The government, which has denied any role in Mr. Nijjar’s death and accused Canada of being soft on separatist activity.
Asked whether a potential “avalanche” of retaliatory diplomatic expulsions would impact the U.S.’s Indo Pacific strategy, Mr. Patel said the U.S. would continue to maintain a focus on the Indo Pacific.
“With India, we are partners with them in the Quad and in many other fora and we continue to work with them and other countries in the region on a number of important issues. But as I said at the top of this, we take these allegations very seriously,” Mr. Patel said, emphasising the U.S.’s request to New Delhi to cooperate with the probe.