PM emphasises defence ties in talks with US defence secretary Austin

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin, who is on his first overseas tour, conveyed the commitment by Washington DC towards continued strengthening of defence relations.

“Prime minister outlined his vision for the strategic partnership between the two countries and emphasised the important role of bilateral defence cooperation in India-US ties. He requested secretary Austin to convey his best wishes to President Biden,” a press release on the meeting said.

“He (Austin) expressed US’ strong desire to further enhance the strategic partnership for peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond,” it said.

India and the US are focusing on China’s increasing military aggressiveness and will take forward ties, including in the quadrilateral format, in detailed talks with Austin, who arrived in the capital on Friday.

Austin is the first top US official to visit India from the Biden Administration and is on his maiden foreign tour, having visited Japan and South Korea as part of a visit to the region that is focused on building alliances in the backdrop of China’s increasing footprint.

The US official is meeting the top Indian leadership including NSA Ajit Doval and defence minister Rajnath Singh. Bilateral talks will take place on Saturday and a joint statement is expected to be released.

Sources said that an important aspect of bilateral talks will be the border confrontation with China in eastern Ladakh, with Austin likely to be given a detailed briefing on the unprovoked PLA build-up that continues to this day.

Prior to his visit, the US official said that the goal was to create “credible deterrence” against China that has fast been modernising its armed forces. “Our goal is to make sure that we have the capabilities and the operational plans… to be able to offer a credible deterrence to China or anybody else who would want to take on the US,” he said.

The meeting gains significance as it follows a virtual quadrilateral summit between the US, India, Japan and Australia, signalling the intent of the new administration on China’s growing aggression.

Sources said that while no particular deal or agreement is on the agenda, the visit will help both sides understand concerns and identify common grounds for cooperation.

The situation with Pakistan, where an uneasy ceasefire now holds along the Line of Control, will also be discussed, with India emphasising that state sponsored terrorism needs to be curbed. One sticky issue that could come up for discussion will be India’s relations with Russia, particularly the acquisition of the S 400 air defence system.