In India, Top US Diplomat Calls China ‘Elephant in the Room’

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun listens during the meeting with Lithuania's Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Aug. 24, 2020. Mindaugas Kulbis/AP Photo

NEW DELHI—A top U.S. envoy on Monday called China “an elephant in the room” and said Washington is keen to advance India’s interests across the Indo-Pacific region.

Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun said the United States was exploring ways to empower India without altering what he called New Delhi’s “strong and proud tradition of strategic autonomy.”