India, US in Agreement on Strategic Issues, Countering China’s Aggression: Rajnath Singh
Image Source: The Economic Times
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh stated on Friday that the India-US strategic partnership is marked by mutual trust and that both countries are increasingly in agreement on important issues, such as addressing regional security challenges, promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific, and countering China’s aggression. The statements were made by Singh during a private meeting with his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, which happened soon after the fifth round of the India-US “2+2” ministerial dialogue ended.
The remarks made by the defence minister coincided with worries over the growing incursions of Chinese military vessels into the Indian Ocean region, as well as the over-three-year border dispute between China and India in eastern Ladakh.
In his opening remarks at the bilateral talks, Singh stated, “The India-US defence relationship has evolved into a strategic partnership characterized by mutual trust, shared values, and a growing recognition of common interests in maintaining regional and global security.”
“We increasingly find ourselves in agreement on strategic issues, including countering China’s aggression, promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific, and addressing regional security challenges,” he added.
“We share a focus on maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region. Recognizing the criticality of safeguarding vital sea lanes and promoting stability, our teams are working on substantive outcomes,” the defence minister said.
He stated that through strengthening defence, industrial engagement, reducing technological barriers, deepening maritime ties, and striving to guarantee robust supply chains across all domains, India and the US are blazing new paths for cooperation.
Austin stated at a press conference following the discussions that both parties discussed the growing security threats posed by China.
“We are working together on a number of things going forward. We have a common goal, a common view of the Indo-Pacific, and that is that the Indo-Pacific should remain free and open and that we should be able to sail in the international seas and fly in the international airspace,” he said.
Austin added, however, that the US-Indian relationship is not solely predicated on China or the difficulties it poses.
The defence ministry said in a statement that Austin and Singh had a thorough discussion on a variety of defence and strategic issues. “There was particular focus on enhancing defence industrial cooperation and getting the defence industries from both sides together to cooperatively co-develop and co-produce defence systems,” said the statement.
According to the ministry, the two ministers discussed strategies for advancing defence technology cooperation through collaborative research in important fields. “They reviewed the progress of the India-US Defence Industrial Ecosystem, INDUS-X, which was launched in June this year and aims to expand the strategic technology partnership and defence industrial cooperation between the governments, businesses and academic institutions of India and the US,” said the statement.
In addition to Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken was part of the US delegation at the “2+2” dialogue. Singh and S Jaishankar, the Minister of External Affairs, led the Indian delegation.
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