US would help India against any attack, Trump assures Modi

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the United States would help India if it came under attack, offering one of his strongest public statements on defence ties with New Delhi during a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G7 summit.

Trump made the remarks when asked about the defence relationship between the United States and India following talks with Modi.

"I think it's a great relationship," Trump said.

"I can tell you this, without having a contract. We don't have a contract. You have to write contracts. But if they were attacked, we would be there to help them."

The comments came as Trump repeatedly praised Modi and highlighted the growing partnership between Washington and New Delhi.

Trump then personalised the remark while referring to the Indian Prime Minister.

"If anybody attacks that man, we're going to be there," he said.

"Now, if there's a new leader, I'm not sure about it. If there's a new leader, I don't know about that. But if they're attacked and he's the leader, we're going to be there to help."

The remarks drew attention because the United States and India do not have a formal mutual defence treaty, although the two countries have steadily deepened military cooperation over the past two decades.

Earlier, Trump described relations with India as exceptionally strong.
"We had, in particular, some very good conversations with Prime Minister Modi, India," he said.

"A lot of things are happening between the United States and India."

The US President also pointed to expanding economic engagement between the two countries and expressed optimism about ongoing trade negotiations.
Asked about a possible trade agreement, Trump said: "We're very close."

He also praised Modi as a negotiator.

"He's a very tough negotiator. He's one of the toughest, actually," Trump said.

Modi, meanwhile, said the two countries had accelerated cooperation since their previous meeting in Washington.

"We had an extremely productive meeting in Washington last year, and since then we have given new speed and new energy to our relations," the Prime Minister said.

"We are working together on a number of areas."

Trump also sought to reassure Indians about the future of bilateral ties.

"As long as I'm president, they have a great friend in the White House," he said.

"They love India. They have tremendous respect for this man."

The US President later described the overall relationship in unusually warm terms.

"India can do anything they want with us," Trump said.

"We have the best relationship."

"We cannot be closer than we are. I don't think we can be any closer, both he and I and our nations."

India and the United States have significantly expanded defence cooperation in recent years through military exercises, defence technology initiatives, intelligence sharing and growing interoperability between their armed forces. The two countries are also members of the Quad grouping alongside Australia and Japan.

Indo-Asian News Services