US, India double down on Asia-Pacific alliance

THE eyes of much of the world are on US domestic politics, right now, with next week's presidential election. Yet, critical foreign policy decisions also continue to be made and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Mike Esper are in New Delhi from Tuesday for a key summit between the world's two largest democracies.

To be sure, the Trump administration will not be displeased with the timing of the trip given the multi-million-strong Indian-American voter base in the United States. However, this is a substantive international affairs meeting with key deals to be signed.

Mr Pompeo and Mr Esper will be hosted by their Indian counterparts, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, for the third annual 2+2 ministerial dialogue. A range of agreements are expected, including to give New Delhi access to sensitive US satellite data to help improve targeting of missiles and drones.