The release of the Indo-US joint statement sparked much speculation, which Congress MP Manish Tewari questioned, asking whether India was providing land for a US military facility.
The joint statement was published after a bilateral meeting between Indian PM Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden on Friday, a day before the G-20 summit’s inaugural session in New Delhi.
Congress MP Questions US Military Bases in India
MP Tewari questioned the BJP government based on a particular paragraph (para 18) in the joint statement provided by the White House, which began by stating, “The leaders applauded the conclusion of a second Master Ship Repair Agreement, with the most recent agreement signed by the US Navy and Mazgaon Dock Shipbuilders, Ltd., in August 2023.”
“Both sides recommitted to advancing India’s emergence as a hub for the maintenance and repair of forward-deployed US Navy assets and other aircraft and vessels. The leaders also welcomed further commitments from US industry to invest more in India’s maintenance, repair, and overhaul capabilities and facilities for aircraft,” the joint statement stated.
MP Tewari posted on X, “This Para 18 in the Indo-US joint Statement has long-term implications. Earlier too Para 14 in the Joint Statement dated June 22 2023 had a similar formulation.” “Is this a precursor to providing US Military bases on Indian Soil? The NDA/BJP will have to clarify in Parliament,” the Congress leader questioned.
Additionally, Tewari provided the link to the joint statement in his tweet. He highlighted the Master Ship Repair Agreement signed in August this year between the US Navy and Mazgaon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd in his tweet.
Indo-US Joint Statement on Space, Technology, Energy
During their bilateral meeting, Biden congratulated Modi and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists and engineers on the historic landing of Chandrayaan-3 near the Moon’s south pole region and the successful launch of India’s first solar mission, Aditya-L1.
The leaders recommended initiatives to create a Commercial Space Working Group under the current India-US Civil Space Joint Working Group.
In the statement, Modi and Biden reaffirmed technology’s defining role in deepening strategic partnership and praised ongoing efforts through the India-US Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) to build open, accessible, secure, and resilient technology ecosystems and value chains based on mutual trust and confidence.
Modi and Biden welcomed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Bharat 6G Alliance and Next G Alliance as a first step towards deepening public-private cooperation between vendors and operators to ensure “trusted telecommunications, resilient supply chains, and global digital inclusion.”
The statement further mentions that the leaders welcomed the inaugural meeting of the India-US Renewable Energy Technologies Action Platform [RE-TAP] in August 2023, under which the two countries will collaborate in labs, pilot and test innovative technologies, and offer training and skill development to “accelerate the uptake and adoption of new and emerging renewable technologies and energy systems.”
On Defence
According to the statement, Modi and Biden underlined their commitment to deepen and diversify the India-US Major Defence Partnership through enhanced cooperation in new and emerging sectors such as space and artificial intelligence and expedited defence industry collaboration.
The leaders also applauded the completion of the Congressional Notification process in August 2023 and the beginning of “negotiations for a commercial agreement between GE Aerospace and Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL) to manufacture GE F-414 jet engines in India, and recommitted to working collaboratively and expeditiously,” the statement read.
Additionally, the leaders praised the India-US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) team for developing a strong partnership agenda that capitalises on the creative work of the US and Indian defence industry to address shared security issues.
On UNSC, NSG Membership
President Biden reiterated his support for a reformed UN Security Council with India as a permanent member, and welcomed India’s candidature for the UNSC non-permanent seat in 2028-29. The leaders emphasised the importance of strengthening and reforming the multilateral system.
The US reaffirmed its support for India’s membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and pledged to continue working with like-minded allies to achieve the goal of using nuclear energy as a necessary resource.
American Military Bases in India? What’s in the Indo-US Joint Statement
The joint statement was published after a bilateral meeting between Indian PM Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden on Friday, a day before the G-20 summit’s inaugural session in New Delhi.
September 11, 2023
IMAGE SOURCE: ANIUS President Joe Biden (L) with Indian PM Narendra Modi at the G20 summit in New Delhi.