India’s defence minister, pledging commitment to US, bolsters ties with Pentagon – Technologist

“Deceit is not in our character. We can be cheated, but we can never cheat others,” he said on Thursday.

Emphasising India’s growing international standing under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Singh stated: “Previously, some of our neighbours thought they could trouble India at will, but India is no longer weak. We are now counted among the world’s strongest nations.”

Singh, whose four-day trip ends on Sunday, described the US and India as “natural allies … destined to be strong partners”.

He added that “India and the US are the two forces which can bring peace, prosperity and stability in the world”.

On Friday, Singh posted on X, formerly Twitter, that he and Austin had had an “excellent meeting”, signing an agreement to secure defence goods and services, which will help each other obtain necessary resources in the event of unexpected supply chain issues.

They also signed a memorandum of agreement to assign liaison officers, enhancing defence cooperation.

“The signing of Security of Supply Arrangements and the agreement for positioning of Indian officers at key US commands are path-breaking developments,” Singh posted.

Austin hailed the “momentum” behind the bilateral relationship, the Pentagon said in a statement.

“We share a vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific, and our defence cooperation continues to grow stronger and stronger,” Austin was quoted as saying, adding that the Indian Navy remained an “important security provider in the Indian Ocean” and that both sides were committed to “deepening naval cooperation”.

Singh is also expected to visit US military facilities and advocate for faster delivery of jet engines, agreed to during Modi’s state visit to the White House in June 2023. The delay has slowed the schedule of India’s Tejas Mark A-1 fighter jets.

On Friday, Singh also met US defence industry leaders and was expected to meet with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan – ahead of Sullivan’s own trip to China next week to speak with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Since a deadly brawl in 2020 that killed at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers in the Galwan Valley in the Himalayas, New Delhi and Washington have grown closer on security cooperation.

An agreement on geospatial intelligence was signed just a few months after the clashes. The pact reportedly allowed Washington to share real-time intelligence about Chinese positions along the loosely marked 2,000-mile Sino-India border in 2022.

India and the US have continued to deepen their ties, including its involvement in the US-led Quad security grouping, which also includes Japan and Australia.

However, New Delhi’s close ties with Moscow continue to make the White House uncomfortable.

A photo of Modi embracing Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit to Moscow in July went viral, just as Nato leaders met in Washington, with Russia’s war in Ukraine a central agenda item. Modi reportedly stuck with his travel plans despite concerns the US raised over its awkward timing.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Russia provided 65 per cent of India’s weapons purchases, totalling over $60 billion, in the past two decades.

On Thursday, Singh said that India was making significant progress toward becoming “self-sufficient” in defence armament.

On Friday, Prime Minister Modi travelled to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying he had told Putin that problems could not be solved on battlefields.

Modi said he was ready to play a personal role in seeking peace, urging both sides “to sit together and look for ways to come out of this crisis”.

Concerning Modi’s visit, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby noted that “every country has to decide for itself what diplomatic conversations they’re going to have”.

“If there’s another country out there that is willing to be helpful in terms of trying to end the war in Ukraine, we welcome that,” he added.