Hope India's response does not lead to broader conflict, says V-P Vance
For the second day in succession, the US conveyed its understanding of India's response to the Pahalgam terror attack with Vice-President J D Vance saying his country hopes it will not lead to a 'broader regional conflict' — and that the US expects Islamabad to 'cooperate' with New Delhi to 'hunt down' terrorists 'sometimes operating from their soil'.
Vance is the latest senior representative of the US administration, after Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, to spell out the US line on the terror attack that killed 26 people. Vance and his family were in India on a four-day visit when the attack — the worst since Pulwama in 2019 —took place in J&K on April 22.
Asked on the Fox News show, 'Special Report with Bret Baier', if he was 'worried about India and Pakistan', Vance said, 'Well, sure, I'm worried about any time you see a hotspot breaking out, especially between two nuclear powers.'
Pointing out that the US has 'obviously been in close contact with our friends in India and Pakistan', the Vice-President said, 'Our hope here is that India responds to this terrorist attack in a way that does not lead to a broader regional conflict.'
Vance said, 'And we hope, frankly, that Pakistan, to the extent that they're responsible, cooperates with India to make sure that the terrorists sometimes operating in their territory are hunted down and dealt with. That's how we hope this unfolds, we're obviously in close contact. We'll see what happens.'
Vance's statements assume significance in the backdrop of US Defence Secretary Hegseth's call Thursday with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Underlining the 'strong support' of the US in India's fight against terrorism, Hegseth told Singh that Washington stands in solidarity with New Delhi and 'supports India's right to defend itself'.
The call between Singh and Hegseth came hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. In that call, Jaishankar said 'the perpetrators, backers and planners of the Pahalgam terrorist attack must be brought to justice'.
Statements from the Jaishankar-Rubio and the Hegseth-Singh calls and now Vance's statement suggest support from the US, in tune with US President Donald Trump 's initial remarks on 'both sides figuring it out'. Trump was also the first world leader to call up Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was in Saudi Arabia when the attack took place.
India is viewing these statements in a 'positive manner', as it weighs options on how to respond to the attack beyond diplomatic measures, sources said, adding that Washington's expression of support gives confidence to New Delhi on the next steps.
Speaking on trade talks with India in the interview with Fox News, Vance said 'good negotiations' were currently on. India is among the countries negotiating with the US to avoid high import taxes, most of them on pause right now. 'Modi, the Prime Minister, is a tough negotiator, but we're going to rebalance that relationship, and that's why the President's doing what he's doing,' Vance said.
Asked if a deal with India was the first one 'coming through', Vance said, 'I don't know if it'll be your first deal, I think it would be among the first deals for sure. Pretty soon, the President… look, we've got negotiations with Japan, with Korea, we've got negotiations going on with some folks in Europe, and obviously we've got a good negotiation going on in India.'
On April 2, Trump had announced sweeping reciprocal tariffs on a number of countries, including India and China. However, on April 9, he announced a 90-day suspension of these tariffs until July 9, except for those on China and Hong Kong, as about 75 countries approached America for trade deals.
However, the 10 per cent baseline tariff imposed on these countries on April 2 remain in effect, besides the 25 per cent duties on steel, aluminium, and auto components.
'What the President has said is, we just want to rebalance trade. So some of the conversations I've had in India, for example, I think most Americans may not know, may not appreciate this, we have great agricultural products,' Vance said.
'Our farmers are making great things, but the Indian market is effectively closed off to American farmers. So what that means is that it makes American farmers and American consumers more reliant on foreign competitors to grow the food that we eat,' he said.
'What our India deal will do, fundamentally, I think, is open up India to American technology. It will open up India to American farmers. It will create more good American jobs. And it's the kind of trade deal that Donald Trump loves… He (Trump) is not anti-trade. He's anti-unfair trade. He's not entirely the kind of trade where foreign competitors take advantage of us, the Indians, let's be honest, they've taken advantage of us for a very long time,' Vance said.
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