US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin yesterday discussed upgrading the partnership with India, a major arms buyer, and set a road map for cooperation for the next five years as both nations grapple with China’s economic rise and increased belligerence, officials said.
Austin’s visit comes as India strengthens its domestic defense industry by acquiring new technologies and reducing reliance on imports, particularly from Russia, its largest supplier of military hardware despite the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Austin and Indian Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh explored ways of building resilient supply chains, a statement from the Indian Ministry of Defence said.
Photo: AFP
They decided to identify opportunities for the codevelopment of new technologies and coproduction of existing and new systems and facilitate increased collaboration between the defense start-up ecosystems of the two countries, the ministry said.
They also discussed regional security issues given their shared interest in maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, it said.
“I’m returning to India to meet with key leaders for discussions about strengthening our Major Defense Partnership. Together, we’re advancing a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Austin wrote on Twitter after his arrival in New Delhi on Sunday.
Austin, who is on his second visit to India, was expected to lay the groundwork for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington on June 22, which has fueled speculation about a possible announcement of defense contracts.
India is looking to purchase 18 armed high-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc for an estimated US$1.5 billion to US$2 billion, defense analyst Rahul Bedi said.
The UAVs would likely be deployed along its restive borders with China and Pakistan, and in the strategic Indian Ocean region, Bedi said.
Indian media reports said joint production and manufacture of combat aircraft engines, infantry combat vehicles, howitzers and their precision ordnance were discussed last month in Washington at a meeting of the US-India Defense Policy Group.
Austin arrived in New Delhi from Singapore, where he attended the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual forum bringing together top defense officials, diplomats and leaders.
Austin lobbied for support for Washington’s vision of a “free, open and secure Indo-Pacific within a world of rules and rights” as the best course to counter increasing Chinese assertiveness in the region.
Chinese Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu (李尚福) said at the Singapore conference that the US has been “deceiving and exploiting” Asia-Pacific nations to advance its own self-interests to preserve “its dominant position.”
Li said that Washington has been holding on to alliances that are “remnants of the Cold War” and establishing new pacts, such as the AUKUS agreement with Australia and the UK, and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue with Australia, India and Japan, “to divide the world into ideologically-driven camps and provoke confrontation.”
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