Vivek Ramaswamy, an Indian-American 2024 US presidential aspirant, said a stronger US-India relationship could help America declare economic independence from China. In a video message shared by news agency PTI, Ramaswamy, whose popularity rating and online fundraising have surged after his impressive performance at the first Republican presidential primary debate, called for stronger strategic ties with India, including military relationship in the strategically important Andaman Sea.
“A stronger US-India relationship could help the US declare independence from China. The US is economically dependent on China today, but with a stronger relationship with India, it becomes easier to declare independence from that Chinese relationship,” Ramaswamy said.
“US should also have a stronger strategic relationship with India, including even military relationship in the Andaman Sea knowing that India, if necessary, could block the Malacca Strait where actually China gets most of its Middle Eastern oil supplies,” he said, adding that he would lead the US foreign policy accordingly.
Why Trump allies are cheering on Vivek Ramaswamy
The 38-year-old presidential aspirant dominated the debate stage on Wednesday night using his outlier policy views and raised USD 600,000 the next day. A confident Ramaswamy told reporters that soon only two candidates would be left in the race, him and former President Donald Trump.
"I was the clear winner of the night. But we are just getting started...My sense is that it landed very well. Pretty soon it'll be down to a two-horse race between Trump and myself," Ramaswamy told reporters.
{{/usCountry}}"I was the clear winner of the night. But we are just getting started...My sense is that it landed very well. Pretty soon it'll be down to a two-horse race between Trump and myself," Ramaswamy told reporters.
{{/usCountry}}Ramaswamy has now hinted that he may run on a joint ticket with Trump as his running mate if he does not win the Republican nomination, according to a media report.
Asked on Britain's GB News whether he would be “happy to be (Trump’s) VP”, Ramaswamy replied: “See, this isn’t about me. If this were about me, sure. That’s a fine position for someone to have at my age.
“This is about reviving our country and I can only reunite this country if I’m doing it from the White House as the leader and the face of our movement.”
Ramaswamy, a second-generation Indian-American, founded Roivant Sciences in 2014 and led the largest biotech IPOs of 2015 and 2016, eventually culminating in successful clinical trials in multiple disease areas that led to FDA-approved products, according to his bio.
(With inputs from agencies)