America will cooperate in increasing India's role in the Indo-Pacific
The US will partner to enhance India's role in the stability of the strategic Indo-Pacific region. According to the US Defense Department Pentagon, India is already a major country providing security in the Indian Ocean. India is also pushing for defense modernization to enhance its role in the Indo-Pacific region.
A senior Pentagon defense official said that since coming to power in January 2021, President Biden's administration has taken several steps to strengthen Indo-US defense ties. Emphasis is also being placed on working with the Indian and US military. The joint military exercise of the three wings of our armies was an important initiative in this direction and helped in preparing for the challenges of the future. According to the Pentagon, both will have to take joint steps for future challenges. It did not give a detailed answer on what these steps would be but said that many military exercises have been about natural disasters and other crises.
The Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) also started after one such disaster, the Indian Ocean tsunami. The advantage was that both countries are able to provide immediate relief in case of a disaster in the future. The Pentagon described the Quad as an important part of mutual cooperation and said that avenues are being explored to cooperate together in ASEAN and other multilateral fora as well. The La Peroz military exercise is an example of this.
work together on new technologies
The importance of new technologies in modern warfare has increased, according to the Pentagon Indo-US have understood this, and are working together. Space and cyber-space are the most important.
Last year there were talks on defense cooperation in both these areas and artificial intelligence. There was also a new agreement on space-positional reflexes.
emphasis on naval cooperation
In the context of military operations, greater emphasis is being placed on naval cooperation. This was discussed in the 2+2 talks last year and the result appeared to be the halt of the Charles Drew ship in Chennai for repairs mid-voyage.
In the future, both navies will get better logistics and resources, and cooperation in operations.
India decided to join the Combined Maritime Force Bahrain. This is also an example of America and New Delhi moving forward on multilateral cooperation.
We want to be a reliable partner in India
The Pentagon official said that becoming a reliable partner of India is one of America's priorities. For this, wherever possible, America is helping India's defense needs.
US officials are in regular talks with their counterparts in India regarding immediate defense needs. The past record of defense deals and agreements has also been strong.
Strategic partnership strengthened: Sandhu
India's Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu said that coming together in the Indo-Pacific region has given strength to relations between the two countries and a new impetus to the bilateral strategic partnership. There is also a constant dialogue between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden, which is giving direction to the relationship. Sandhu was delivering the keynote address at the 'India at 75' conference held on Saturday at Columbia University's International and Civil Affairs Complex.
Sandhu said that the foundation of this cooperation will be strengthened not only through politics but also through civil relations, business, studies, and contacts between researchers. The relationship between the two countries is defined by scale, speed, and skill. An example of scale is the RotaVac vaccine available for $1 for rotavirus, which was previously $60.
Both countries in important strategic partnerships
Quad: The long-proposed Quad was formed by India, the US, Australia, and Japan in November 2017. Amidst China's growing military presence in the Indo-Pacific region, its goal is to make a new strategy to keep important sea routes free from anyone's influence. China claims the entire South China Sea, including areas claimed by Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam. China even built artificial islands so that it could establish its military centers. There are disputes with Japan over its territory in the East China Sea.
IPEF: It was launched on 23 May by 14 countries of the Indo-Pacific including India and America. The rest of the countries are Australia, Brunei, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its goal is to increase economic partnership.
I2U2: India, Israel, UAE, and the US formed this group in October 2021. The goal is to bring together the corporate world of the four countries, increase investment and take new initiatives for water, energy, transport, space, health and food security.
