In Delhi, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin slams China for ‘bullying’, ‘coercion’

New Delhi: India and the US on Monday concluded an ambitious roadmap for defense industrial cooperation to fast-track technology alliances and co-production of military platforms such as air warfare and land systems, a move in response to China’s increasingly aggressive stance in the Indo-Pacific region. has come between , Apart from firming up the roadmap two weeks ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and his US counterpart Lloyd Austin in their wide-ranging talks also agreed to launch talks on security of supply chain and mutual defence. Procurement Agreement to promote supply chain sustainability.

At a media briefing, the US Defense Secretary said US-India cooperation matters “because we all face a rapidly changing world. We see intimidation and coercion from the People’s Republic of China and Russian aggression against Ukraine”. which seeks to redraw borders and threatens the national sovereignty.”

Austin, who arrived in Delhi on Sunday on a two-day visit, said the India-US partnership is a “cornerstone” for a free and open Indo-Pacific and the US is doing its “full throttle” to support India’s defense modernisation. ,

nice to see my friend again @Rajnath Singh And thank you for his unwavering commitment to the US-India defense relationship.

His leadership has paved the way for deeper cooperation, joint exercises and technology sharing between our two countries. pic.twitter.com/uMuyS9DYtHDefense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) June 5, 2023

The Pentagon said the roadmap aims to change the “paradigm” for cooperation between the US and Indian defense sectors, including the implementation of a set of specific proposals that could give India access to state-of-the-art technologies and support its defense modernization plans. can support.

It is learned that Singh and Austin discussed General Electric’s proposal to share technology with India for fighter jet engines and buy 30 MQ-9B armed drones from US defense major General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc for over USD 3 billion. Also talked about the planning of New Delhi.

The jet engine deal may be announced during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the US.

People familiar with the matter said the two projects would be part of a roadmap that would provide for cooperation in the areas of intelligence sharing, surveillance and reconnaissance, munitions and undersea domain.

“We have established an ambitious new roadmap for defense industrial cooperation, with a fast-track (and) high priority for co-development and co-production projects,” Austin said at a media briefing.

“We are looking forward to taking forward some of those projects during the upcoming visits,” he said, apparently referring to Modi’s upcoming visit to the US.

Describing the US-India relationship as one of the most “resulting” he said Washington shares technologies only with countries it trusts completely. “There is a growing desire for us to share (them) with partners here in India.”

Austin said the US-India partnership is a “cornerstone” for a free and open Indo-Pacific and the deepening of ties shows how technological innovation and growing military cooperation between the two “great powers” are for the global good. can be a strength.

The US Defense Secretary also held separate talks with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

In a statement, the Defense Ministry said the two sides will identify opportunities for co-development of new technologies and co-production of existing and new systems, besides facilitating enhanced cooperation between the defense start-up ecosystems of the two countries. do.

“Toward these objectives, he laid out a roadmap for US-India defense industrial cooperation that will guide policy direction for the next few years.”

The ministry said the meeting between Singh and Austin was “cordial and cordial” and the two sides discussed a “substantial range” of bilateral defense cooperation issues, with a special focus on identifying ways to strengthen industrial cooperation.

The Pentagon said the new roadmap would “fast-track technology collaboration and co-production in areas such as air warfare and land mobility systems; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; munitions; and the undersea domain.”

“Secretary and Minister Singh resolved to review regulatory barriers impeding industry-to-industry collaboration and security of supply arrangements and to begin negotiations on a reciprocal defense procurement agreement that would foster long-term supply chain stability,” Said this.

In a series of tweets, Singh said the talks revolved around enhancing defense cooperation in several areas including convergence of strategic interests and security cooperation.

Singh said, “The India-US partnership is critical to ensuring a free, open and rules-bound Indo-Pacific region. We look forward to working closely with the US to build capacity and further strengthen our strategic partnership.” Looking forward to.”

The Indo-US partnership is critical in ensuring a free, open and rules-bound Indo-Pacific region. We look forward to working closely with the US in all areas to build capacity
And further strengthening our strategic partnership. – Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) June 5, 2023

The Pentagon said Austin and Singh also committed to strengthening operational cooperation across military services to support India’s leading role as a security provider in the Indo-Pacific region.

They discussed new opportunities to strengthen information sharing and enhance cooperation in the maritime domain. On this note, Secretary Austin welcomed India’s leadership role in the quad Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness Initiative (IPMDA), a state-of-the-art Will provide domain awareness capability to countries in the Indo-Pacific region,” it said.

In his meeting with NSA Doval, Austin exchanged views on regional and global security issues of concern, including maritime security in the Indian Ocean region.

“The Secretary welcomed Doval’s vision of shared security interests and objectives, including his ideas for comprehensive maritime cooperation,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

Throughout his engagements, the Secretary underscored the centrality of the U.S.-India partnership to maintaining peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Defense Ministry said both sides reviewed the strong and multifaceted bilateral defense cooperation activities and agreed to maintain the momentum of engagement.

It added, “They welcomed the recent opening of defense talks focused on artificial intelligence and the defense sector. They also discussed regional security issues, noting their shared interest in maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.” ”

In his remarks at the media briefing, Austin said that as the world’s two largest democracies, India and the US have a unique role to play in preserving the rules-based international order that “keeps us all safe”.

“Our global and strategic partnership is growing rapidly. Today the US-India partnership is a cornerstone for a free and open Indo-Pacific. Our deepening bond shows how technological innovation and growing military cooperation between the two great powers Collaboration can be a strength for us.” Global good,” he said.

Secretary Austin describes his talks with Singh and Doval as “productive”

“Democracies must now rally together under common interests and shared values. Maintaining and protecting freedom is essential to peace and prosperity, and this requires vigorous leadership from the US and India,” he said.

“So we still have much work to do. I am confident that the US-India partnership will help secure an open and prosperous future for the Indo-Pacific and the wider world,” he said.

The Pentagon said Austin and Singh also discussed the growing importance of defense innovation and cooperation in emerging domains such as space, cyberspace and artificial intelligence.

“They also welcomed the establishment of the India-US Defense Acceleration Ecosystem (Indus-X), a new initiative to advance cutting-edge technology cooperation,” he added.

“The initiative, which will be launched by the US-India Business Council on June 21, is designed to complement existing government-to-government collaboration by fostering innovative partnerships between US and Indian companies, investors, start-up accelerators, and academic research.” Institutions,” it said.

This is Secretary Austin’s second visit to India. His last visit to the country was in March 2021.

“Nice to meet my friend Rajnath Singh again and thank him for his unwavering commitment to the US-India defense relationship. His leadership paved the way for deeper cooperation, joint exercises and technology sharing between our two countries,” Austin tweeted. paved.”

In a major step, President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Modi in May last year announced the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) to enhance and expand strategic technology partnership and defense industrial cooperation.

ICET is expected to establish closer ties between the government, academia and industry of the two countries in areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, 5G and 6G, biotech, space and semiconductors.

India-US defense and strategic ties have deepened in the last few years.

The two countries have entered into major defense and security agreements over the years, including the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016, which allows their militaries to use each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of supplies. allows.

The two sides also signed COMCASA (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement) in 2018, which provides interoperability between the two militaries and the sale of high technology from the US to India.

In October 2020, India and the US sealed the BECA (Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement) agreement to further boost bilateral defense ties. The agreement provides for sharing of high-end military technology, logistics and geospatial maps between the two countries.