NEW DELHI, 29 July 2021, (TON): The top diplomats of India and the United States pledged on Wednesday to expand their multilateral security partnership, underscoring the deepening of ties between the two countries concerned over China’s growing influence in the region.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met in New Delhi and sought to strengthen a regional front against Beijing’s assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific and their cooperation in Afghanistan.

They also lauded each country’s help in fighting the coronavirus and said their vaccine partnership is an effort to end the pandemic.

Blinken said at a joint news conference “there are few relationships in the world that are more vital than [the] one between the US and India. We are the world’s two leading democracies and our diversity fuels our national strength.”

Washington has made no secret of the US desire for India’s help in isolating China. The two countries have steadily ramped up their military relationship and signed a string of defence deals.