US and India agree on defense industry cooperation roadmap

05.06.2023

The Indian government stated to the outside world on June 5 that the country and the United States have reached a roadmap for defense industry cooperation in the next few years. Analysts believe that this move will make India more ambitious in the field of military industry. At the same time, the German Defense Minister criticized India for being too dependent on Russian arms.

(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) The roadmap was established during a meeting between U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh.Washington is currently working to deepen ties with New Delhi, hoping to strengthen military and technological ties with the world’s largest democracy, making the latter aAn important force in the Asia-Pacific region to check and balance China。

After the US Secretary of Defense’s visit to India, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi plans to pay a state visit to the US on June 22 and hold talks with US President Joe Biden. The roadmap for defense industry cooperation is considered significant because Washington usually has very strict controls on the export of its own military technology.

No longer dependent on Russia?

India’s Ministry of Defense disclosed that the talks between the two defense ministers “focused in particular on finding ways to strengthen industrial cooperation.” Cooperation”. The Indian Ministry of Defense also stated in the statement that the road map aimed at achieving the above goals will guide the policy direction in the next few years.

India is the world’s largest arms importer, and nearly half of its arms depends on Russia. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who began his visit to India on June 5, also said in an exclusive interview with DW that in the long run, “India is so dependent on RussiaIt is not in our interest to supply arms. So we have to think about what we can do. “

In recent years, India is working hard to diversify its arms and introduce new equipment from the United States, France, Israel and other countries. New Delhi also hopes that global arms dealers will cooperate with Indian manufacturers to produce locally in India to meet the needs of the country and then export them. The German Minister of Defense revealed that representatives of German military enterprises will also go to India with him.

According to the results of the talks between the defense ministers of India and the United States on June 5, the Biden administration will sign an agreement to allow General Electric of the United States to produce engines in India for use by Indian military aircraft.

Austin also revealed that he and Singh discussed new measures to increase information sharing and improve cooperation in the oceans, including the underwater domain. US defense secretary says US-India defense partnership is important because “we face a rapidly changing world; we see bullying and coercion from China, Russian aggression in Ukraine, attempts to redraw borders by force and threats to national sovereignty , and common challenges that transcend borders, such as terrorism and climate change.”

Austin called on “democracies to act in unity now, not just around our common interests, but around shared values.”

(Reuters, etc.)

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