Bolstering India’s military prowess key to achieving power balance in Indo-Pacific: US defence secy

Washington, Apr 12 (PTI) US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has told lawmakers that by bolstering the Indian military's capabilities, the nations can work together to uphold a more stable balance of power across the wider Indo-Pacific.

He also told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee during a Congressional hearing this week on the annual budget of the Department of Defense that the militaries of the US and India are accelerating operational activities to boost maritime security in the Indian Ocean.

"By bolstering the Indian military's capabilities, we can work together to uphold a more stable balance of power across the wider Indo-Pacific," Austin said and added that "with this budget request, we are beginning a new chapter in US-India relations under our Major Defense Partnership".

The defense secretary said, "Our militaries are accelerating joint exercises, information-sharing and other operational activities to boost maritime security in the Indian Ocean." "We are committed to ensuring that the growing US-India partnership supports the efforts of our broader network of allies and partners, especially the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue among Australia, India, Japan, and the United States," Austin said.

At a separate Congressional hearing on the Indo-Pacific, the Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral John C Aquilino, told lawmakers that a strong US-India Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership is essential to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

In 2023, the US and India launched INDUS-X and completed a roadmap for US-India Defense Industrial Cooperation to enhance bilateral defense industrial cooperation and innovation, he said. The proposed deal between GE Aerospace and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for domestic Indian production of the F-414 jet engines exemplifies this approach.

"The US and India are seeking unprecedented levels of interoperability by expanding cooperation in the air domain through the participation of US B-1B bombers in India's biennial air show AERO INDIA and bilateral air exercise COPE INDIA," Aquilino said.

He said that additionally, in the land domain, "we conducted the largest-ever bilateral joint amphibious exercise with India, TIGER TRIUMPH, improving our cooperation on maritime domain awareness and strengthening service-to-service ties".

"USINDOPACOM (or the United States Indo-Pacific Command) seeks to deepen cooperation under the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) to enable more regular and flexible engagements in the Indian Ocean region, including US ship repair in Indian shipyards," he said.

Two new Master Ship Repair Agreements were signed in 2023, and three US Navy vessels have recently received maintenance and repair in Indian shipyards, the US admiral said.

Aquilino also told lawmakers that in 2021, amid its long-running border dispute with India, China passed a land border law "which asserted that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the (People's Republic of China) are sacred and inviolable" and provided a legal framework for greater People's Liberation Army involvement in border security. PTI