Top defense officials from India and the United States pledged Saturday to expand their military engagement, underscoring the strengthening defense ties between two countries concerned over China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh met in New Delhi and agreed to deepen defense cooperation, intelligence sharing and logistics. I reaffirm our commitment to a comprehensive forward-looking defense partnership with India as a central pillar of our approach to the Indo-Pacific region,” Austin said. The U.S. and India have steadily ramped up their military relationship in recent years and signed a string of defense deals and deepened military cooperation. The U.S.-India security partnership enjoys strong bipartisan support in Washington, and it has grown significantly since the early 2000s even though trade agreements have been a sticking point.

Source: Los Angeles Times March 20, 2021 09:12 UTC