India and the US on reviewed the entire gamut of their defence ties here during talks between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin. They also firmed up the roadmap for US-India Defence Industrial Cooperation. Austin also held detailed discussions with National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval. It was Austin’s second visit to India with the last one in March 2021.
The Defence Industrial Co-operation accords high priority to various projects for the co-development of military platforms and hardware. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to discuss defence related issues including access to cutting edge technology from the US during his talks with President Joe Biden later this month. US Defence Sectretary’s visit here came two weeks ahead of Prime Minister Modi’s state visit to Washington. During their talks here on Monday, Rajnath and Austin reportedly laid the ground work for some important defence technology related announcements likely to be made after Modi’s summit with Biden. In a statement, the defence ministry said both sides will identify opportunities for the co-development of new technologies and the co-production of existing and new systems besides facilitating increasing collaboration between defence start-up ecosystems of the two countries. Rajnath said after the talks with Austin, the India-US partnership is critical for ensuring a free, open and rules-bound Indo-Pacific region. He also said India is looking forward to closely work with the US across various domains for capacity building and further consolidating the strategic partnership. Austin arrived in New Delhi on Sunday on a two-day tour.
“Delighted to meet my friend, @SecDef Austin in New Delhi. Our talks revolved around enhancing defence cooperation in several areas including convergence of strategic interests and enhanced security cooperation,” Rajnath tweeted. Ahead of the talks at the Manekshaw Centre, Secretary Austin was accorded a guard of honour.
Giving details of the talks, defence ministry officials said the two sides discussed a substantial range of bilateral defence cooperation issues, with particular focus on identifying ways to strengthen industrial cooperation. The two Ministers explored ways of building resilient supply chains. Towards these objectives, they concluded a roadmap for US-India Defence Industrial Cooperation which shall guide the policy direction for the next few years.
Both sides reviewed the robust and multifaceted bilateral defence cooperation activities and agreed to maintain the momentum of engagement. They welcomed the inaugural dialogues held recently focusing on Defence Artificial Intelligence and Defence Space.
They also discussed the regional security issues given their shared interest in maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. Senior officials from Ministry of Defence, including Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane and Secretary, Department of Defence Research and Development and Chairman Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Samir V Kamat, participated in the meeting.
In parleys between Doval and Austin, the two sides discussed cooperation in specific niche technologies in maritime, military and aerospace domains to boost capabilities. They also spoke on the greater transfer of technology, co-production and building indigenous capacities in line with India’s Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiatives.
Doval emphasised ensuring that countries in different regions - Middle East, South Asia and South East Asia and Indo-Pacific retain their freedom of action in line with their national priorities and are not coerced into poor choices.
The two leaders agreed to focus on trusted sources of supply, resilient supply chains and greater industry-to-industry partnerships. They also emphasised on the strategic approach to global challenges through whole of government efforts including through people to-people and societal relations. India and the US are keen to take forward the General Electric’s proposal to share technology with India for fighter jet engines and New Delhi’s plan to procure 30 MQ-9B armed drones at a cost of over USD 3 billion from US defence major General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. India is looking for manufacturing of jet engines in India under the framework of technology transfer to power its fighter aircraft.
In a major move, President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Modi announced in May last year the US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) to elevate and expand the strategic technology partnership and defence industrial cooperation between the two countries. The iCET is expected to forge closer linkages 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.
The two countries have inked key defence and security pacts over the past few years, including the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016 that allows their militaries to use each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of supplies.
India and the US also signed COMCASA (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement) in 2018 which provides for interoperability between the two militaries and provides for the sale of high-end 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 defence ties.
The pact provides for sharing of high-end military technology, logistics and geospatial maps between the two countries.