Jaishankar pushes wider India ties as US-China talks and regional tensions rise

A series of developments on Thursday put the focus on India's diplomatic outreach, US-China engagement, and tensions in South Asia. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called for deeper ties between India and Caribbean nations, said India had been placed on the Pacific Islands Forum's "strategic partner stream", and was also part of discussions with the US on possible "sanctions" linked to economic engagement with Russia and Iran.

At the same time, Chinese President Xi Jinping began his state visit to Washington, where US President Donald Trump was to greet him on the tarmac and later host a state dinner. In the region, Pakistan banned public gatherings in Islamabad ahead of a planned protest by Imran Khan's party and said it had carried out strikes in Afghanistan, while Sri Lanka's parliament began debating a controversial constitutional amendment on judges' retirement age.

Jaishankar said India and Caribbean nations must further deepen ties in the economic, digital and mobility domains. He also said India had been placed on the Pacific Islands Forum's "strategic partner stream", describing it as a "positive development" that would contribute to deeper cooperation with the region.

Separately, India and the US discussed "sanctions" that could be imposed on countries engaging economically with Russia and Iran. Washington said it remained well-positioned to help regional partners address their energy security challenges. At the United Nations, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia was using citizens of India and 46 other countries in its war against Ukraine, and urged those countries not to let Russian President Vladimir Putin "drag you into this war".

In Washington, Xi arrived on Wednesday for a state visit and was to receive a rare planeside welcome from Trump, who chose to greet him on the tarmac instead of waiting at the White House. On Thursday, Trump hailed the "truly great friendship" he had forged with Xi as the visit began. Xi, in turn, said China and the US should be "partners, not rivals" and expressed confidence that the two countries could find a way to get along in the new era.

The visit also coincided with movement on trade. China's Commerce Ministry said the two sides had reached consensus on multiple economic and trade issues during their latest consultations in New York, where they also held their first dialogue on artificial intelligence. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington and Beijing had agreed to extend their trade-war truce by two months to allow more time for a potentially larger deal. Trump was also set to host a state dinner for Xi featuring a menu built around American ingredients with a subtle Chinese influence.

In Pakistan, authorities banned public gatherings in Islamabad for two months ahead of a march planned by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's political party to the capital. Information Minister Atauallah Tarar said Pakistan had carried out precision aerial and drone strikes on ten locations across Afghanistan in response to attempted drone attacks from Afghanistan a day earlier.

In Sri Lanka, parliament began a two-day debate on the controversial 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, which seeks to raise the retirement age of judges. Taken together, the day's developments ranged from India's push to widen strategic partnerships to major-power diplomacy, regional security tensions and constitutional debate in Sri Lanka.

With PTI Inputs

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