US Secretary of State John Kerry with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi

 

Secretary of State John Kerry with Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister Shushma Swaraj and US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker in New Delhi

 

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar at joint news conference at the Pentagon

In recent years, India-US relationship has taken a new and invigorating turn where there is continuous engagement between the Heads of State and their respective officials to take it to another level. In this continuing dialogue, we have the Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar visiting the US for three days from August 29-31, while the US Secretary of State John Kerry is in India to further the ‘strategic and commercial dialogue’ launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama last year.

Parrikar is in the US on the invitation of the Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter. The defence relationship between India and the United States is based on the two countries’ shared values and interests, and their abiding commitment to global peace and security. During their meeting, the two discussed the wealth of progress in bilateral cooperation and the deepening strategic partnership between the United States and India. The visit – their sixth interaction to date – demonstrates the importance both sides place on strengthening defence ties across many areas: from increased strategic and regional cooperation to deepened military-to-military exchanges, to expanded collaboration on defence technology and innovation.

Countering China’s growing military assertiveness

The two sealed the agreement in efforts to strengthen defence ties to counter concerns over China’s growing military assertiveness. The two countries signed an agreement in Washington that allows access to each other’s military bases for repairs and resupplies.

In addition to his official meetings at the Pentagon and joint visit to the 9/11 Memorial with Secretary Carter, Minister Parrikar also met with the leadership of the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx) and visited US Cyber Command (CYBERCOM). He will also visit the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and Joint Base Langley-Eustis for a tour of the Air Combat Command (ACC) and the 480th Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) Wing. In addition, he will interact with representatives of US defence industry during the visit.

Dialogue on Contending Terrorism that Emanates from Pakistan

While in India, the Secretary of State participated in the 2nd Indo-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue where terrorism emanating from Pakistan and other important issues, including economic matters like visas, were discussed. During the Dialogue, co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman along with Kerry and US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, the entire gamut of cooperation between the two countries was taken up. John Kerry also met the Prime Minister to discuss ambitious plans to hike trade between India and the US fivefold to around $500 billion.

While in the US, Minister Parrikar and Secretary Carter discussed India’s ‘Major Defense Partner’ designation, announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington in June 2016. They agreed on the importance this framework will provide to facilitate innovative and advanced opportunities in defence technology and trade cooperation. To this end, the United States has agreed to elevate defence trade and technology sharing with India to a level commensurate with its closest allies and partners.

Progress Under DTTI

Secretary Carter welcomed India’s membership in the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and reaffirmed US support for India’s membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). They welcomed continued progress under the Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI). They welcomed the decision at the DTTI meeting in Delhi in July 2016 to broaden its agenda by setting up five new Joint Working Groups on Naval Systems; Air Systems, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance; Chemical and Biological Protection; and Other Systems. They also noted the signing of an Information Exchange Annex under the framework of the Aircraft Carrier Joint Working Group. Minister Parrikar and Secretary Carter also agreed to continue to their close consultation on ‘Make in India’ proposals.

Joint Exercises

Minister Parrikar and Secretary Carter welcomed the continued efforts by both countries’ militaries to deepen bilateral cooperation and expand opportunities for greater collaboration. They commended the recent completion of the naval exercise Malabar with Japan and India’s participation in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise in Hawaii, as well as the Red Flag Air Force Exercise in Alaska. They were encouraged by the increased complexity in the Yudh Abhyas Army exercise, which is scheduled for September in India. They agreed to facilitate greater and regular interactions to deepen mutual understanding between military services and promote practical cooperation in areas of mutual interest, such as counter-terrorism, maritime security, special operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. They also welcomed the signing of the bilateral Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), which will facilitate additional opportunities for practical engagement and exchange.

The Defence Minister in his opening statement at the joint press conference said: “As was noted, this is our sixth meeting in about a year. This reflects our shared intent to take the India-US defence partnership forward. Indeed, defence cooperation between India and the United States has never been stronger than it is today.”

India-US Cooperation on a High

“Today, India has more cooperative activities with the US military than with any other country. Over the past few months, our Air Forces have jointly exercised in Red Flag as have our Navies in RIMPAC and Malabar. The Army Exercise Yudh Abhyas is to be held shortly. Our decision to sign the LEMOA today would make it easier for our armed forces to carry out joint activities, such as training and exercises, as well as HADR missions.

“Our engagement on maritime security is developing well. India and the United States have a shared interest in freedom of navigation and overflight and unimpeded commerce as part of a rulesbased order in the Indo-Pacific. Our officials met in May 2016 for the inaugural Maritime Security Dialogue. We have tasked them to meet more regularly as we implement the Joint Strategic Vision. The signing of the White Shipping Agreement and the Information Exchange Arrangement on Aircraft Carriers recently underlines our desire to work closely together in the maritime domain. Today we decided to further enhance our engagement on Maritime Domain Awareness.”

In the statement he added: “We also resolved to continue our cooperation on counter-terrorism. India and the United States are fellow democracies. Our open and diverse societies are committed to peace. However, as the United States has shown, there can be no compromise when we are faced with terrorism. The forces that seek to undermine our progress and our way of life require a comprehensive and robust response. We appreciate the support from the United States in our efforts to eliminate terrorism in India’s neighbourhood. Secretary Carter and I agreed that countering terrorism is an important shared objective.”