NEW DELHI — Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave India’s democracy his stamp of approval following a recent scandal involving the alleged surveillance of journalists, threading a needle between President Joe Biden’s pledge to champion human rights and a long-term goal to secure India’s assistance in countering threats from China.

“We view Indian democracy as a force for good in defense of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Blinken told reporters Wednesday. “We also recognize that every democracy, starting with our own, is a work in progress. And when we discuss these issues, I certainly do it from a starting point of humility. We see the challenges that our own democracy has faced in the past and faces today.”