US, India to sign 10-year defence framework

Paparo met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan, according to an American readout.

The US Indo-Pacific Command is the unified combatant command of the US military responsible for the Indo-Pacific region.

The top American commander visited India from March 16 to 19 to advance the US-India comprehensive global strategic partnership and attend the Raisina Dialogue, India’s flagship conference on geopolitics.

Paparo’s trip advanced the US-India initiative, COMPACT (Catalysing Opportunities for Military Partnership, Accelerated Commerce and Technology) for the 21st Century, the readout said.

In February, US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the COMPACT that seeks to drive transformative change across multiple pillars of cooperation, including defence, trade and investment, energy, technology and innovation, and people-to-people ties.

It is learnt that top defence and security officials of the Quad nations India, the US, Australia and Japan held extensive talks on the sidelines of the Raisina Dialogue.

“The work throughout the Raisina Dialogue enhances the mutual understanding and alignment of goals as the US and India seek to renew a 10-year framework for the US-India Major Defence Partnership that will propel cooperation through the next decade,” the US readout said.

“The US-India Major Defence Partnership has become a cornerstone of global peace,” it added.In 2016, the United States designated India as a “Major Defence Partner”.  Commensurate with this designation, India was accorded the “Strategic Trade Authorisation tier 1” that allowed the country to receive licence-free access to a wide range of military and dual-use technologies regulated by the US Department of Commerce.The major defence partnership is up for renewal next year...At the Raisina Dialogue, Paparo spoke during a panel discussion on “Deepwater Perils: Securing Trade Through Red Zones”, alongside top military officials from India, Australia, Japan and the Philippines.

They highlighted maritime threats, risks for global security and trade, the importance of working with allies and partners to ensure freedom of navigation, and integration of artificial intelligence and unmanned systems into military preparedness.

Admiral Samuel J Paparo also participated in a United States India Strategic Partnership Forum event where discussions focused on the future of the strategic and security partnership between the two nations, including integration of artificial intelligence and defence cooperation.