Vance warns of ‘very dark time’ without close US-India ties

JAIPUR, India: The United States wants to sell more energy and defence equipment to India to build closer ties, Vice President JD Vance said on Tuesday, praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi repeatedly as talks over a trade deal progress.

Visiting the northwestern Indian city of Jaipur, Vance hailed what he called India’s vitality over the “sameness and flatness” of some Western nations. His remarks followed criticism by US President Donald Trump of steep Indian tariffs on cars, farm goods and other products.

The rebalancing of global trade because of Trump’s tariff actions is “going to produce great benefits for the people of India,” Vance said. India is trying to position itself as a manufacturing base of choice for the world as China faces high US duties.

“If India and the United States work together successfully, we’re going to see a 21st century that is prosperous and peaceful,” Vance told an audience of a few hundred students, traders, government officials and politicians in Jaipur. “But I also believe that if we fail to work together successfully, the 21st century could be a very dark time for all of humanity.”

He said it would be natural for India to buy more defence equipment from the United States, including Lockheed Martin’s LMT.N F-35 fighter jets, as the two countries do regular military exercises. “We, of course, want to collaborate more,” he said. “We want to work together more, and we want your nation to buy more of our military equipment.”