Nisha Biswal, US Assistant Secretary for South Asia who strongly criticized the Sri Lankan government for its slow progress on reconciliation and accountability fronts, has stated yesterday that  the US would continue to call for credible efforts to ensure accountability and justice in Sri Lanka. 

"Sri Lanka has fortunately ended its civil war, though reconciliation has proved challenging. Following the March UN Human Rights Council resolution in Sri Lanka, we continue to call for credible efforts to ensure accountability and justice. We look forward to a resumption of a more comprehensive military relationship once the Government of Sri Lanka has made better progress toward reconciliation and accountability. Further south in Maldives, we’re working closely with that young democracy to protect its waters and cooperate on counterterrorism," Biswal said. 

She made these remarks in Boston while expressing her viewpoints on the US Foreign Policy in South Asia. 

Commenting on the relations between the US and India, Biswal said, "Our security engagement with India is a central element of the broad U.S.-India strategic partnership. That’s why we are committed to a partnership that includes a strong and influential India in the security realm. Why? Because it can contribute to the stability of the Indian Ocean region. We remain committed to working with India as we develop a joint approach security in the Indo-Pacific.

We’ve expanded our regional consultations with India to include South, Central, West, and East Asia. We’ll hold new rounds of several of these dialogues soon. With a sixth round set for early June, the U.S.-India- Japan trilateral dialogue has deepened our discussions on Indo-Pacific economic connectivity, maritime security, and coordination in multilateral fora. Our long-term geo-strategic convergence in this region with India has never been more apparent."