NEW DELHI: Admiral Samuel J Paparo, commander of the US Pacific Command (USPACOM), arrived in the capital on Saturday on a six-day visit to strengthen the India-US Major Defence Partnership. The visit comes at a time when a new US sanctions law targeting buyers of Russian oil has added to strains in the wider bilateral relationship.
Admiral Paparo was received in New Delhi by US ambassador Sergio Gor. This is his second visit to India this year. During his earlier visit in February, he had called on Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan.
During his current visit, which runs till October 8, Admiral Paparo will hold talks with the top brass of the defence ministry and the armed forces. The agenda includes emerging technologies, regional strategic stability and defence energy resilience.
"From emerging technology to maritime security, the United States and India are building a defence partnership equipped to meet the challenges of the future," the US embassy said in a statement. The embassy added that the visit "reaffirms the United States' enduring presence and interests in the Indian Ocean region".
The Hawaii-headquartered command reverted to its original name in June, eight years after it was rebranded as the Indo-Pacific Command. The Indo-Pacific is also the focus of the Quad, which brings together India, the US, Japan and Australia.
The visit comes barely two weeks after US President Donald Trump signed the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act into law. The law empowers him to impose tariffs of up to 100% on major buyers of Russian oil and gas, including India. New Delhi has warned that such measures could affect bilateral ties. Separately, commerce minister Piyush Goyal is currently in the US for talks with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on finalising the interim trade deal.
However, military ties between the two countries have largely stayed on course. In late August, India inked a Rs 292 crore deal to acquire Javelin anti-tank guided missiles for the Army under the emergency procurement route. Two days later, Tata Advanced Systems signed an agreement with the Javelin Joint Venture of Raytheon and Lockheed Martin to explore assembly of the missile in India.
But the engine bottleneck persists. American major GE Aerospace has delivered just 10 of the 99 F404 engines ordered by HAL in 2021, leaving the Tejas Mk1A deliveries to the IAF stuck on the tarmac.
The Indian armed forces currently operate several US-origin platforms, including C-17 and C-130J transport aircraft, P-8I maritime patrol aircraft, Chinook helicopters and MH-60R submarine-hunting helicopters.