In a meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar at the Pentagon on Sunday, United States (US) Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin asserted that military ties between the two countries are “moving from strength to strength.”
Austin affirmed, “We are positioning the US and Indian militaries to operate and coordinate more closely together than ever,” adding, “We’re taking significant steps to deepen our defence cooperation from stronger information sharing and defence industrial ties to cooperation in emerging defence domains, including through the launch of a new dialogue later this year.”
I had the pleasure of hosting my friend Indian 🇮🇳 External Affairs Minister @DrSJaishankar at the Pentagon yesterday. We’re continuing to break new ground in the U.S.-India partnership as we advance our shared vision for a #FreeandOpenIndoPacific. pic.twitter.com/QtlzGzOKLH
— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) September 27, 2022
He noted that India has bought the US-made Apache and Seahawk helicopters and expressed interest in other American defence equipment to “ensure that our militaries are ready for future challenges [...] to the rules-based international order”—especially in light of China’s aggression in the Indo-Pacific and Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
According to a readout by the US Department of Defense, the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to working together as “steadfast partners” in realising their “shared vision for a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific.” It also said that Washington and New Delhi would “work more closely together across space, cyber, artificial intelligence, and other technology areas.”
Jaishankar’s meeting with Austin comes on the heels of US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner’s recent visit to India, during which he co-chaired the sixth US-India 2+2 Intersessional Dialogue and the fifth Maritime Security Dialogue in New Delhi alongside US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu, Additional Secretary of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs Vani Rao, and Col. Shailender Arya from the Indian Ministry of Defence.
The officials “advanced an ambitious set of initiatives across the breadth” of their partnership, including in defence and security, science and technology, climate, public health, trade, and people-to-people ties. Shortly after the visit, Ratner announced that US and India will jointly develop drones in a bid to support India in expanding and modernising its defence arsenal.
Exchanged perspectives on the Ukraine conflict, Indo-Pacific developments, maritime challenges and regional issues.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) September 26, 2022
Despite this defence collaboration, however, the last few weeks have also seen the emergence of some tensions in strategic ties, particularly over the US’ relations with Pakistan.
Jaishankar has spoken out against the US for approving a $450 million deal under which Pakistan will receive engineering, technical, and logistics support for its F-16 fighter jets. He said this week: “For someone to say I am doing this because it is all counterterrorism content and so when you are talking of an aircraft like a capability of an F-16 where everybody knows, you know where they are deployed and their use. You are not fooling anybody by saying these things.” He opined that Washington should “reflect on the merits” of its relationship with Pakistan, as it “has neither ended up serving Pakistan well nor serving the American interests.”
Indian Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh, too, expressed his “concern” over the US’ decision during a phone call with Austin earlier this month.
It’s unfortunate that the US continues to pursue its failed & misguided policy of using Pakistan as a counterweight to India. Which US “interests” did years of military aid to Pak serve? They sheltered Osama bin Laden, spawned more terror groups & aided the revival of the Taliban https://t.co/icS0aL2kta
— Palki Sharma (@palkisu) September 27, 2022
Indian officials also raised “strong objections” to the deal during a meeting with Lu and reportedly protested the decision at “each and every” discussion during Quad’s Senior Officials Meeting, arguing that Pakistan would use the technology against India and not for counterterrorism, as it claims.
Nevertheless, Lu has defended Washington’s decision as necessary because the equipment used by Islamabad is 40 years old. Speaking to India Today earlier this month, he emphasised: “There is no new aircraft being considered, no new capability and no new weapons system.” He reiterated that the US would only provide “spare parts and maintenance” and the deal was “a sale” and “not assistance.”
Similarly, in a press briefing on Monday, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price insisted that the US considers both India and Pakistan as partners with “shared” values and interests, and not “in relation to one another.” He noted that Washington’s relationships with both New Delhi and Islamabad “stand on [their] own.”
Important discussion today with Indian External Affairs Minister @DrSJaishankar about #USIndia's continued collaboration on global health challenges, climate change and clean energy, food security, and the implications of Russia’s war in Ukraine. #USIndiaAt75 pic.twitter.com/aZcMn9oXrP
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) September 27, 2022
Meanwhile, during a press briefing on Tuesday, Jaishankar and his American counterpart Antony Blinken did not talk about Pakistan in their opening remarks. However, Blinken asserted that the US-India relationship “is simply one of the most consequential in the world.” He went on to acknowledge that despite sharing close ties, the two nations do have differences, but “because of the depth and quality of the dialogue we have, we talk about everything and work closely together on how we can advance the agenda that we have in common.”
Along the same lines, Jaishankar noted that despite their differences, he is very “bullish” about ties with the US, noting that it had become “very international, very much more open to engaging a country like India, which is actually thinking beyond traditional alliances, which has been very effective at finding common ground with potential or actual partners.” He asserted that this “opens up a whole range of possibilities” that benefit both countries.
“I think the more we work together, the more we engage each other, I think many more possibilities will come. So, very frankly, that’s a long way of saying that I’m very bullish about that relationship,” he underlined.