Focus On Indo-Pacific As US Defence Secretary Set For Visit In June

NEW DELHI: India and the US will focus on further cranking up operational military cooperation in the critical Indo-Pacific region as well as discuss defence-industrial collaboration in jet engines and emerging military technologies like cyber, space, and artificial intelligence during US Secretary of defence Lloyd Austin’s visit here in early-June.

Austin is slated to hold delegation-level talks with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on June 5 during his Indo-Pacific trip, ahead of PM Narendra Modi’s official state visit to the US from June 21, officials told the media.

The Pentagon in Washington on Friday said Austin will meet with key leaders during his trip, which will also include visits to Japan and Singapore, to advance US defence partnerships across the region in support of “our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific, anchored in ASEAN centrality”.

On India’s leg, the Pentagon said, “This visit provides an opportunity to accelerate new defence innovation and industrial cooperation initiatives and drive ongoing efforts to expand operational cooperation between the US and Indian militaries.”

With an eye firmly on China’s muscle-flexing and expansionism, India and the US have already bolstered their military interoperability through a flurry of bilateral as well as multilateral combat exercises, which will now see the next Malabar naval exercise among the ‘Quad’ countries being conducted off Australia from August 11 to 21.

Officials said India and the US will also organize a conclave of military chiefs from the 14 Pacific Island Countries (PICs), which straddle crucial sea lanes of communication, in New Delhi around September.

On May 21, both PM Modi and US Secretary of state Antony Blinken had separately visited Papua New Guinea to announce initiatives to counter China’s expanding inroads in the PICs.

On the bilateral front, the US has bagged lucrative Indian defence deals worth over $21 billion just since 2007, apart from the two countries inking four “foundational military pacts”.

A long-pending deal is India’s proposed acquisition of armed Predator drones, in the backdrop of the ongoing successful exploitation of two leased unarmed MQ-9B Sea Guardian drones for extensive surveillance missions by the Indian Navy from September 2020 onwards.

But the deal’s high cost at $3 billion for 30 Predators has led India to cut down the requirement to 18 drones, with New Delhi also pushing for the transfer of technology and MRO facilities under the contract, as was reported by media earlier.

Moreover, with the Modi government’s thrust on “Make in India”, the focus now is on joint development and production of cutting-edge military weapons. The US government is, for instance, considering an application by engine manufacturer General Electric to jointly produce jet engines in India.

(This story belongs to TOI. Bharat Express holds no responsibility for its content.)