“I think it makes eminent sense for India to produce world-class defence equipment for its own needs, and potentially as an exporter, for the world,” US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu told PTI on 20 April.

The senior State Department official, however, refrained from giving details of the major defence collaboration to manufacture modern and sophisticated defence equipment in India.

“We are already major partners in the defence field. We, over the last 20 years, have had a defence trade of over USD 20 billion. And I know our private companies and our governments, our ministries of defence are talking on a regular basis about how we cooperate,” he said.

Lu pointed out that last April during the Two Plus Two Dialogue involving India’s Minister of Defence and External Affairs Minister and their American counterparts Secretary of Defence and Secretary of State, for the first time there was American support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make in India initiative.

“We can see that India is shifting away from dependency on other countries and looking to produce defence supplies, and defence equipment in India itself and that’s a process we strongly support. And I hope in the coming months that you will see announcements, a major collaboration between our countries for sophisticated, modern, capable defence equipment that will be made in India,” Lu told PTI in response to a question.

This is “absolutely part” of the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (ICET) Dialogue that was launched by India’s National Security Advisor Ajit K Doval and his American counterpart Jake Sullivan, he noted.

“But it’s something we have been working on now for several years with India. I think you’ll see this year ahead will be pivotal in terms of our defence cooperation,” he said.

Lu, however, refrained from giving any other details. “I think that’s as much as I’m able to say in detail. But it will be exciting. And I hope by the end of the year that we will have a more detailed discussion about what those specific defence cooperation items are,” he said.

According to an Indian Embassy fact sheet, India-US defence cooperation is based on the “New Framework for India-US Defence Cooperation”, which was renewed for a period of ten years in 2015.

In 2016, the defence relationship was designated as a Major Defence Partnership (MDP) to build a comprehensive, enduring and mutually beneficial defence partnership.

On July 30, 2018, India was moved into the Tier-1 of the US Department of Commerce’s Strategic Trade Authorization license exception.

The Defence Policy Group (DPG) headed by the Defence Secretary and Under Secretary of Defence (Policy) provides a platform for a comprehensive review of defence dialogues/mechanisms.

In August 2022, a US Navy Ship (USNS) Charles Drew visited Chennai for repairs and allied services. This was the first-ever repair of a US Navy ship in India.

Several defence agreements have been signed, including the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Association (2016); the Memorandum of Intent between the US Defence Innovation Unit (DIU), and the Indian Defence Innovation Organisation – Innovation for Defence Excellence (2018); Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (2018); Industrial Security Agreement (2019); Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (2020).

Bilateral exercises include Yudh Abhyas (Army); Vajra Prahar (Special Forces), and a tri-services exercise- Tiger Triumph (inaugurated in 2019).

India joined the multilateral Combined Maritime Force (CMF) based in Bahrain, as an Associate Partner in April 2022. In November 2022, the Australian Navy joined the US-India-Japan MALABAR annual Naval Exercise. The US participated in India’s multilateral Exercise Milan 2022.

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The Indian delegation for the inter-sessional meeting on Wednesday was led by Vani Rao, Additional Secretary (Americas) in the Ministry of External Affairs and Donald Lu, Assistant Secretary of State (South and Central Asian Affairs) and Ely Ratner, the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Indo-Pacific Security Affairs).

“They discussed ways to further strengthen the Major Defence Partnership, including in new and emerging areas in the defence domain such as space, AI and cyber,” an External Affairs Ministry statement said.

In a separate statement, John Supple, the spokesman for the US Department of Defense said the officials of the two countries also reviewed progress toward operationalizing major bilateral initiatives on information-sharing, defense industrial cooperation, and joint service engagements to support combined, multi-domain operations.

“They committed to launching an inaugural Emerging Defense Capabilities Dialogue later this fall, as the two sides expand cooperation in new domains such as space, cyber, artificial intelligence, and other defense technology areas,” Supple said.

At the 5th India-US Maritime Security Dialogue (MSD), held here on Thursday, officials discussed the developments in the global maritime domain, bilateral maritime cooperation endeavors, regional support initiatives and collaborative efforts such as Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness, the MEA statement said.

“They affirmed their shared desire to enhance maritime security internationally and strengthen cooperation towards a free, open and inclusive maritime order that would support security, inclusive growth and prosperity,” it said.

During the MSD, the US and Indian officials discussed ways to expand collaboration both bilaterally and within multilateral networks, including with Australia, Japan, and European partners, Supple said.

“They identified new opportunities to coordinate capacity-building activities in South and Southeast Asia, deepen logistics cooperation, and drive forward high-end Navy-to-Navy cooperation to address challenges, including in the undersea domain,” Supple said,

The Indian delegation to the MSD comprised Sandeep Arya, Additional Secretary (Disarmament & International Security Affairs), Vani Rao, Additional Secretary (Americas), Ministry of External Affairs and Mr. Dinesh Kumar, Joint Secretary (Maritime &Systems), Ministry of Defence.

The US delegation was led by Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu and Assistant Secretary of Defence for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, Ely Ratner.

According to the External Affairs Ministry, the dialogues also provided an opportunity to discuss regional issues pertaining to South Asia, Indian Ocean Region and the Indo-Pacific.

“The two sides agreed to remain engaged with the objective of further enhancing the depth and substance of the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership,” the MEA statement said.

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