US and India will increase defence and technological collaboration as the threat from China intensifies.
Officials said on Tuesday that the United States and India are moving to enhance their defence alliance, the latest indication of their relationship in the face of a more assertive China.
The proposals, which include closer cooperation on military-related businesses and operational coordination in the Indo-Pacific, were developed during two days of meetings in Washington between government and corporate representatives from the two countries.
According to a White House information sheet, collaboration on developing jet engines and military weapons technologies is crucial among them. In particular, it stated that the US government will try to hasten the evaluation of a request made by US company General Electric to produce jet engines in India for use in indigenous Indian aircraft.
According to the fact sheet, the US and Indian forces will strive to increase maritime security and their capacities for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.
According to a Defense Department statement, US Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks reminded Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval that “developing alliances and partnerships are a major priority” for the Pentagon in light of the “increasingly challenging strategic environment” in the area.
Building the alliances, according to Hicks, is a key goal of the US’ 2022 National Defense Strategy, which refers to China as a “rising multi-domain threat.”
India’s soldiers and Chinese troops have engaged in combat along the Line of Actual Control, the ill-defined frontier between the two countries high in the Himalayas, while the US has observed China bolstering its military forces in places close to Taiwan and important US ally Japan.
Tech Ties
The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, sometimes known as the Quad, is an informal security-focused forum that was founded in the early 2000s and includes the US, India, Japan, and Australia as members. In an effort to offset China’s influence and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific, it has increased its activity recently.
US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the US-India collaboration on Critical and Emerging Technology on the margins of a Quad conference in Tokyo last May. (iCET).
The discussions this week, which were the first under the plan, included numerous government representatives, CEOs of businesses, and leading academics from both nations.
Washington and New Delhi would cooperate to “increase international collaboration in a range of sectors, including artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and advanced wireless,” according to a White House fact sheet. The two countries would also focus on defence technologies.
The agreement to expand the semiconductor sector in India, which has the educated and talented workforce required to become a major participant in producing those crucial components, was a significant industrial outcome of the discussions.
The two nations also committed to aiding India in developing 5G and 6G sophisticated cell phone technology, which are part of the next generation of telecommunications.
Washington and New Delhi also decided to expand their collaboration in space, particularly by assisting India in developing its space programme, commercial space industry, and planetary defence capabilities.