Elevating the United States-India defence partnership – especially in the context of strategic challenges in the Indo-Pacific region – is a priority of the Biden administration, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said Saturday without naming China.
After a meeting with Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi, the US defence chief said they discussed, joint military exercises and boosting cooperation in new areas like information sharing, logistics and artificial intelligence.
Both Austin and Singh said that they talked about enhancing cooperation with like-minded partners in multilateral forums like the Quad, which is seen as a regional bulwark against increasing Chinese assertiveness in the region.
The Quad or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue comprises Australia, India, Japan and US.
“As the world faces a global pandemic and growing challenges to an open, stable international system, the US-India relationship is a stronghold of a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” Austin said after his meeting with Singh.
Austin’s trip through Asia – with stops in South Korea, Japan and India – is seen as an attempt to shore up alliances and partnerships as China increasingly flexes its muscles.
Austin, who landed in New Delhi on Friday, called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also held extended talks with India’s national security advisor Ajit Doval.