NEW DELHI: India and the US on Friday agreed to take forward their defence ties by appointing officials to handle an initiative launched two years ago aimed at joint development and co-production of weapons, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for “further progress” in areas of military technology transfer and defence manufacturing.
New Delhi named its Defence Production Secretary, a post that is vacant, as the “contact person” for the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative, while the US named its Under Secretary for Acquisition, Technology and Licensing at the Pentagon, Frank Kendall, as its “contact person”.
The India-US meeting happened on a day when US jets scored their first kill against an ISIL target in Iraq.
When US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel called on Modi, the PM expressed “concern” over the deteriorating situation in Iraq and its potential implication in the region, where India has vital stakes. Hagel briefed the PM on the announcements by US President Barack Obama on the steps that the US planned to take to deal regarding the situation in the Middle East.
The PM also noted that “an early completion of the election process in Afghanistan... and smooth transition of power is essential for sustaining progress towards peace, stability, democracy and development in Afghanistan.”
The Prime Minister also underscored the importance of defence with the US in the overall strategic partnership between the two countries and indicated his desire for further progress in military ties, including in weapons manufacturing in India, arms technology transfer, armed forces joint exercises and defence higher studies.
Welcoming the sustained high-level engagement by the US and India, Modi shared New Delhi’s passion for peace and stability in the wider Asia Pacific region with Hagel.
Though not specifically named, the reference to Asia Pacific security was apparently an euphemism for China and its aggressive military posturing in the region where India has gained strategic and commercial interests by investing in oil fields in Vietnam’s South China Sea backyard.