Biden administration wants to continue to deepen defence cooperation with India: US official

The United States' defenceties and cooperation with India will continue to deepen underPresident Joe Biden-led administration, a top ranking USofficial said on Tuesday, citing common interests.

''....the declaration of India as a major defencepartner of United States was huge milestone, that was doneunder the previous administration and we want to continue todeepen our cooperation,'' US Air Force Deputy Undersecretary,International Affairs, Kelli L Seybolt told reporters here.

Responding to a question about possible ''changes'' indefence ties with the new administration taking over in theUS, she said her expectation is that the deepening ofcooperation will only continue because ''there is so muchcommon interests in doing so, as we all look for secure andfree Indo-Pacific''.

''So our expectation is that things will continue togrow in our defence ties and relationship, and we'll workcloser together....the good demonstration of that is- theSecretary of Defence Austin's (Lloyd J Austin III) first callwas to his counterpart in India (Defence Minister RajnathSingh).

That speaks volumes..,'' she added.

A high-level delegation of US government officialsand defence industry representatives is taking part in theAero India 2021, the country's premier defence and aerospaceexhibition, starting here from Wednesday.

Among the highlights of the show, a B-1B Lancerheavy bomber, of the 28th Bomb Wing based out of Ellsworth AirForce Base in South Dakota, will perform a ''fly-by.'' US Charg d'Affaires Don Heflin, speaking about thedefence cooperation between India and his country, said thereis deepening of familiarity, compatibility andinteroperability between the militaries of the two nations.

''The United States is a reliable partner to India'sdefence sector offering the world's best defenceequipment.India plays a key role at the Indo-Pacific regionand our cooperation advances our shared vision of a rulesbased international order that promotes prosperity andsecurity of all the countries,'' he said.

Responding to a question on ''Aatmanirbhar Bharat''(self-reliant India) and possible impact on sharing ofcritical technologies to Indian firms, Heflin said, India'sdefence procurement is an issue for the Indian government todecide.

He said, ''US recognises that India desires toproduce more of its military equipment. We understand that,and look forward to a growing partnership in this effort, asthis process unfolds, India will widely need to widely developcertain key capabilities, with careful use of outsideprocurements, to realise this ambition of a vibrant indigenousdefence industrial sector.'' ''Also, India-US defence partnership goes beyond defencemanufacturing and trade, we have signed foundational defenceagreements and our military is engaged in joint exercises suchas 'Tiger Triumph' and 'Malabar','' he added.PTI KSU RS BNADMINISTRATOR BNADMINISTRATOR