Washington: In a strategic declaration, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin conveyed to legislators the importance of augmenting the Indian military’s strength to ensure a more balanced power dynamic throughout the Indo-Pacific expanse. He articulated before the Senate Armed Services Committee during a session on the Department of Defense’s fiscal plans that the US and Indian militaries are intensifying collaborative efforts to enhance maritime safety in the Indian Oceanic region.
“By elevating India’s defense capacities, we can collaboratively maintain equilibrium and stability across the extensive Indo-Pacific corridor,” Austin remarked, noting that “this budgetary outline marks the commencement of a new epoch in the US-India relationship under our Major Defense Partnership.”
The defense chief underscored, “Our armed forces are accelerating combined drills, intelligence exchange, and other cooperative undertakings to heighten maritime safety in the Indian Ocean.”
“We are devoted to ensuring the burgeoning US-India alliance supports the broader network of our partners and allies, notably the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue comprising Australia, India, Japan, and the United States,” Austin asserted. In an independent Congressional meeting focused on the Indo-Pacific, US Indo-Pacific Command’s Commander, Admiral John C. Aquilino, emphasized to lawmakers that the robust US-India Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership is crucial for maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific.
In 2023, the US and India initiated INDUS-X and finalized a strategy for US-India Defense Industrial Cooperation aimed at advancing joint defense manufacturing and innovation, Aquilino highlighted. The prospective accord between GE Aerospace and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for Indian domestic production of F-414 jet engines illustrates this collaborative method.
“The US and India are pursuing unparalleled levels of interoperability by extending cooperation in aerial endeavors through the inclusion of US B-1B bombers in India’s biennial air display AERO INDIA and the mutual air exercise COPE INDIA,” Aquilino explained. He added that, in land operations, “we conducted the largest bilateral joint amphibious exercise with India, TIGER TRIUMPH, which enhanced our collaboration in maritime awareness and strengthened inter-service connections.”
“USINDOPACOM (United States Indo-Pacific Command) aspires to amplify collaboration under the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) to facilitate more regular and adaptable engagements within the Indian Ocean territory, such as US naval vessel repairs in Indian shipyards,” he said.
Two novel Master Ship Repair Agreements were formalized in 2023, and three US Navy ships recently underwent servicing in Indian shipyards, the admiral informed.
Aquilino further informed lawmakers that in 2021, during its ongoing border tension with India, China enacted a land border statute “which declared the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the (People’s Republic of China) as sacrosanct and unassailable” and set a legal framework for increased involvement of the People’s Liberation Army in border oversight.
