New Delhi: US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday described the recent visit of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat to the Pentagon as ‘historic’. During the visit, they have discussed ways to ensure greater interoperability between the two armed forces and reaffirmed their enduring commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Gen Rawat’s visit to the US took place a week after the maiden in-person meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden at the White House.
PM Modi and President Biden reaffirmed the need for greater military-to-military cooperation between India and the US.
Austin tweeted “It was an honor to meet Indian Chief of Defence Staff Gen Rawat during his historic visit to the Pentagon last week, We reaffirmed our enduring commitment to a Free and Open Indo-Pacific and discussed ways to drive greater interoperability between the US and Indian armed forces .”
It was an honor to meet Indian Chief of Defense Staff Gen. Rawat during his historic visit to the Pentagon last week. We reaffirmed our enduring commitment to a #FreeandOpenIndoPacific and discussed ways to drive greater interoperability between the U.S. and Indian armed forces.
— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) October 3, 2021
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said that “Gen Rawat and Austin exchanged views on priorities for advancing the US-India defense partnership, including through enhanced cooperation in new defense domains such as space, cyber, and emerging technologies,”
“This historic meeting highlights the enduring strength of the US-India Major Defence Partnership as the two countries work in concert with like-minded partners to sustain a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Kirby said.
During his visit to the Pentagon, Gen Rawat also met his US counterpart Gen Mark Milley and they discussed a range of issues, including ways to ensure regional security and their respective roles as principal military advisors to the civilian leadership.
On September 24, President Biden hosted the first-ever in-person summit of Quad leaders and at the invitation of President Biden, Prime Minister Modi and his counterparts Scott Morrison from Australia and Yoshihide Suga from Japan attended the Quad summit.
China claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam all claim parts of it. Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea. China also has territorial disputes with Japan in the East China Sea.
(_Vinayak Barot)