Joe Biden administration wants to strengthen defence ties with India: US official

President Joe Biden-led administration is sowing the seeds of strong
defence ties and cooperation with India, a top ranking US official said on
Tuesday, PTI reported.

“….the declaration of India as a major defence partner of United
States was huge milestone, that was done under the previous administration and
we want to continue to deepen our cooperation,” US Air Force Deputy
Undersecretary, International Affairs, Kelli L Seybolt told reporters here.

The US administration is looking forward to strengthen their ties
because “there is so much common interests in doing so, as we all look for
secure and free Indo-Pacific”.

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“So our expectation is that things will continue to grow in our
defence ties and relationship, and we’ll work closer together….the good
demonstration of that is- the Secretary of Defence Austin’s (Lloyd J Austin
III) first call was to his counterpart in India (Defence Minister Rajnath
Singh).

A high-level delegation of US government officials and defence industry
representatives is taking part in the Aero India 2021, the country’s premier
defence and aerospace exhibition, starting in Bengaluru from February 3, 2021.

US Charge d’Affaires Don Heflin said there is deepening of familiarity,
compatibility and interoperability between the militaries of the two nations.

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“The United States is a reliable partner to India’s defence sector
offering the world’s best defence equipment. India plays a key role at the
Indo-Pacific region and our cooperation advances our shared vision of a rules
based international order that promotes prosperity and security of all the
countries,” he said.

Responding to a question on “Aatmanirbhar Bharat”
(self-reliant India) and possible impact on sharing of critical technologies to Indian firms, Heflin said, India’s defence procurement is an issue for the
Indian government to decide.

“US recognises that India desires to produce more of its military
equipment. We understand that, and look forward to a growing partnership in
this effort, as this process unfolds, India will widely need to widely develop
certain key capabilities, with careful use of outside procurements, to realise
this ambition of a vibrant indigenous defence industrial sector.Also, India-US
defence partnership goes beyond defence manufacturing and trade, we have signed
foundational defence agreements and our military is engaged in joint exercises
such as ‘Tiger Triumph’ and ‘Malabar’,” he said.