The United States (US) Secretary of Defence, General (Retd.) Lloyd Austin landed in India on Friday for the first face-to-face meetings between the Indian government and the Biden administration. This is Austin’s third stop on his Asia tour, which is largely been focused on reaffirming Washington’s commitment to its regional allies and partners in the face of an increasingly aggressive China. He was previously in Japan and South Korea with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The visit also comes just a week after the first virtual Quad summit convened by President Biden and a day after tense talks between the US and China in Alaska.
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According to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Austin met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon after his arrival, and the leaders’ discussions “covered bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest.” A statement released by the PMO said that Modi “outlined his vision for the strategic partnership between the two countries and emphasized the important role of bilateral defence cooperation in India-US ties.” The minister also reiterated the countries’ belief in the shared values of democracy, pluralism and commitment to a rules-based order. “India and the US are committed to our strategic partnership that is a force for global good,” Modi said in a tweet after the meeting.
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Meanwhile, Austin reaffirmed the US’ continued commitment to enhancing bilateral defence ties and expressed Washington’s “strong desire” to further strengthen the strategic partnership for peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. “Thrilled to be here in India,” he tweeted. “The breadth of cooperation between our two nations reflects the significance of our major defence partnership, as we work together to address the most pressing challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region.”
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The Pentagon chief also met with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and discussed key issues of mutual interest, strategic partnership, and cooperation on various aspects of security and defence. Austin will meet his Indian counterpart, Rajnath Singh as well as Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar on Saturday and is expected to discuss Indo-US strategic cooperation, defence sales and technology transfer, as well as Indo-Pacific strategy as a part of the Quad. There has also been pressure on the chief to raise the issue of India’s planned purchase of Russian S-400 air defence missile systems with government officials, along with concerns regarding the erosion of human rights as well as democratic values. However, given that democracy and human rights do not fall within the purview of the defence department, and that the delivery of the weapons system is not yet complete, whether these topics feature in the talks remains to be seen.