Laying at rest the apprehension that the US will use India in its strategy to contain China, US Secretary of Defence, Mr Leon E Panetta, in a major speech at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) on June 6, 2012, said “as the United States and India deepen our defence partnerships with each other, both of us will also seek to strengthen our relations with China. We recognise that China has a critical role to play in advancing security and prosperity in this region”