US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in India on Monday as part of a five-day tour of Asia to strengthen strategic ties against the backdrop of China’s growing influence in the region.
According to reporters accompanying the Secretary of State, Pompeo was met at the New Delhi airport by US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster.
Pompeo is scheduled to meet with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Monday evening. US Secretary of State and Defense Secretary Mark Esper will hold talks with Jaishankar and Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday.
Later on Tuesday, Pompeo and Esper will pay a visit to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to a schedule released by the Indian Foreign Ministry.
After India, Pompeo will visit Sri Lanka and the Maldives, two countries in the Indian Ocean where China is actively investing and developing infrastructure, a concern for India and the United States.
India is embroiled in a military standoff with China on the disputed Himalayan border.
The tour’s final destination will be Indonesia – one of the Southeast Asian countries concerned about China’s increased activity in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.
