The Pentagon on Wednesday said that the defence relationship between India and the US has an “incredible momentum”.
Further signaling the depth of this relationship, the next edition 2+2 dialogue between the US and India will be held in April, Ely Ratner, Assistant Secretary of Defence for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, told members of the House Armed Services Committee during a Congressional hearing.
That's a two plus two with Secretary (of State) Blinken, Secretary (of Defence) Austin and their (Indian) counterparts (External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh); in that meeting we'll discuss a number of activities that not only are unprecedented, but are the kinds of things that would have been unimaginable 10 years ago or even five years ago,” Ratner added.
The relationship has been described as “manageable” and is moving rapidly ahead.
India was declared a “Major Defence Partner” in 2016. This allowed Indians to purchase critical arms technology from the US which is available only to its close allies and partners.
This has aided the defence partnership between the two countries such as close integration of “defence cooperation and logistics” especially in the fields of cyberspace and space, increasing the level of information and intelligence sharing.
Ratner further said the maritime cooperation between the two countries extends to western Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia to counter the security threats and promote shared values and principles such as freedom of navigation and maritime domain awareness.
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Several lawmakers in the US questioned the Pentagon regarding India’s abstention at the UNSC voting to condemn the Russian invasion.
To this, Mr. Ratner said that India has a complicated history and relationship with Russia, signaling an understanding of India’s position on the invasion.
India has abstained on resolutions condemning Russia for six times, thrice at the UNSC, once at the special session of the UN General Assembly and twice at the UN Human Rights Council sessions.
