Navy Cooperation A Significant Component for India-US Ties

By siliconindia   |   Monday, 29 August 2022, 23:38 IST
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Navy Cooperation A Significant Component for India-US Ties

India’s ambassador mentioned that navy-to-navy cooperation is one of the most dynamic and essential elements in enhancing the India-US defence relationship

India's representative, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, noted that the cooperation between the US and Indian navies is one of the most vital aspects of the two countries bilateral defence relations, highlighting how the defence industry has grown to be a critical pillar between them, particularly in the context of the Indo-Pacific.

Sandhu stated this on his historic visit of INS Satpura to San Diego last week. INS Satpura is a 6000-tonne guided missile stealth frigate designed and built in India. It is equipped to find and destroy adversaries on land, underwater, and in the air. This is the first time an Indian Naval Warship docked on the US West Coast, perhaps two decades after an Indian ship came to the US. He added that the widening scope of engagements with the US navy, specifically the annual Malabar series of exercises and the multinational engagements such as MILAN 22 and RIMPAC 22, enhances India’s trust and interoperability at sea. It reflects the growing defence cooperation between the countries.

Sandhu remarked that the countries’ defence trade has expanded. The US recognised India as a "Major Defence Partner" in 2016, under which Washington will keep working to make it easier for India to share technology at a level comparable to its closest allies and partners. In the fields of defence trade, personnel exchanges, defence technology, cooperation in maritime surveillance, and counter-piracy, there has always been a steady intensification. India currently manages more military exercises with the US than any other country. Moreover, the special forces of the two nations are engaged in an India-US joint special forces exercise in India.

As India celebrated its 75th independence anniversary, it commemorated 75 years of diplomatic relations with the US. Charles Drew, the US military Sealift command ship USNS, asserted that the US is further trying to enhance the comparative advantages and the opportunity for defence industrial collaboration to innovate, co-produce, and co-develop for India and the world. He reiterated that the US is one of India's most crucial partners in the international sphere.

Drew mentioned that the countries’ bilateral engagement has developed into a success with solid connections and complementaries. These ties include India’s talent and young population, scaling low-cost manufacturing, a large market, investment incentives, technology, and innovation.