Pentagon praises military ties with India as highlight of 2023

According to the Pentagon, the US has expanded the extent of its military cooperation with India and strengthened its plans for modernising defence, highlighting the “groundbreaking” accomplishments and collaboration with partners in 2023 that are intended to promote peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific area. The Pentagon stated that it is now deploying state-of-the-art military capabilities and building the capabilities required to maintain deterrence in the Indo-Pacific in the future, in response to China’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea. “Throughout 2023, the United States has worked alongside allies and partners to deliver groundbreaking achievements for peace, stability, and deterrence in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” the Department of Defence said in a fact sheet on a “Decisive Year” in the Indo-Pacific region. The department stated that by “bolstering India’s defence modernisation plans, including by advancing the priorities outlined in the Roadmap for US-India Defence Industrial Cooperation to co-produce fighter jet engines and Stryker armoured vehicles, as well as launching the India-US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) to promote partnerships between US and Indian researchers, entrepreneurs, and investors,” it is also supporting allies and partners as they invest in their own capabilities, citing specific country examples. According to a fact sheet from the Defence Department, the US is collaborating with friends and partners in the Indo-Pacific to enhance peace and security in the area, including by working together more than in the past. Key examples include “India, modernising the scope (of) our military engagements including by incorporating advanced fighter aircraft and strategic bombers in our exercises, which strengthens interoperability and highlights shared efforts to promote stability and security in the Indo-Pacific.” The US, India and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China’s rising military manoeuvring in the resource-rich region. In the South and East China Seas, China is embroiled in bitter territorial disputes. In recent years, Beijing has also made significant strides towards militarising its artificial islands. China asserts its dominance over the whole South China Sea. However, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Brunei have rebuttals. China and Japan have territorial disputes in the East China Sea. The example of exercise MALABAR, which was held in Australia for the first time this year and involved Australia, Japan, and India, was also mentioned. It “facilitated high-end training in anti-submarine exercises, communications, and air defence.” United States Secretary of security Lloyd Austin was reported in the fact sheet as stating, “2023 will be remembered as a decisive year for implementing US defence strategy in Asia in this decisive decade.” Other Indo-Pacific alliances and partners, including Japan, Australia, the Philippines, South Korea, and Indonesia, were mentioned in the fact sheet. It mentioned that Secretary Austin travelled to eight countries in the Indo-Pacific area on four separate occasions in 2023. For the US-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue this year, Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken flew to New Delhi in November. Austin had gone to India in June in advance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s formal state visit to Washington with the goal of “reinforcing the major defence partnership and advancing cooperation in critical domains.” (With agency inputs)