New Delhi: US President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Florida Congressman Michael Waltz, co-chair of the India caucus and a China baiter, to be his national security adviser, a development that experts said augurs well for India.
As Trump continues to make appointments to his incoming administration, Florida senator Marco Rubio is reportedly likely to serve as the secretary of state.
Both Waltz and Rubio are known to have strong views against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.
Waltz will succeed Jake Sullivan as NSA after Trump is sworn in as the 47th President of the US on January 20 next year. It is expected that he will continue to focus on the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies, launched by the NSAs of the US and India in January 2023, according to people familiar with the matter.
After being elected as co-chair of India Caucus in January last year, he had said that India is the world’s largest democracy and an important strategic partner for the US.
At the peak of Covid-19 pandemic in India, Waltz had signed a letter with India Caucus co-chairs Congressman Brad Sherman and Steve Chabot to rush medical supplies to India. The letter, dated April 29, 2021, said it was in the interest of the US that everyone in India be vaccinated.
Waltz has spoken consistently against China and has been instrumental in several legislations in the House of Representatives. He has been a critic of the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
If Rubio is picked as secretary of state, he will be the first person of Latin American descent to serve as the top diplomat of the US. Rubio has been a vocal advocate of strengthening ties with India, positioning the country as a crucial partner in the Indo-Pacific region, while being tough on China.
On the Russia-Ukraine war, Rubio has said in recent interviews that Ukraine needs to seek a negotiated settlement with Russia rather than focus on regaining territories occupied by Russian. He was one of 15 Republican senators to vote against a $95 billion military aid package for Ukraine, passed in April. He has taken a strong position on the Hamas-Israel conflict, supporting Israel as a key US ally.
Rubio has favoured limited exemptions to India under the The Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), a US federal law under which sanctions have been imposed on Iran, North Korea and Russia. The US House of Representatives passed an amendment a few years ago that approved a waiver to India against CAATSA for its purchase of S-400 missile defence system from Russia to help deter China.
