PM Modi’s state visit to set new benchmark for bilateral ties, Pentagon says
PM Modi will visit the United States at the invitation of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden on June 21.
- Jun 9, 2023,
- Updated Jun 9, 2023 10:24 AM IST
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the US will set new benchmarks for bilateral ties, the Pentagon has said.
PM Modi will visit the United States at the invitation of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden on June 21.
"When Prime Minister Modi comes here to Washington for a State Visit later in the month, I think it will be a historic visit setting new benchmarks for the relationship," Ely Ratner, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, said at a panel discussion at the Center for New American Security on Thursday, PTI reported.
"I think it (the visit) will be looked back upon similar to how the Japan two plus two earlier this year was a pivotal moment in the relationship. People will be looking back on this visit by Prime Minister Modi as a real springboard for the US-India relationship," he added.
Ratner revealed that US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had visited India recently to finalise preparations and agreements for the upcoming state visit.
"Among the priorities are clear strategic alignment around the question of co-development and co-production between the United States and India on the defence side. This is a priority for Prime Minister Modi to strengthen India's indigenous defence industrial base, as well as advancing the military modernisation," he said.
Earlier in January, Ajit Doval and Jake Sullivan, the National Security Advisors of India and the US, respectively, had launched the initiative for critical and emerging technology (CET) in order to bolster ties on the technological fronts, as well advance things on the defensive end.
"I know there have been efforts at this in the past. Sometimes there's skepticism around, is it going to be real this time? And my answer is, I think, all signs are pointing toward yes, it's going to be real and we're going to have some really big, historic, exciting announcements out of the prime minister's visit in terms of particular projects around defence industrial cooperation," Ratner said.
"We are also enhancing our operational coordination in a number of different places. A lot of focus on the Indian Ocean, a lot of focus on the undersea domain, as well as new domains, space and cyber and new efforts around information sharing," he added.
"If you look at the development of the US-India relationship, it's really unbelievable how far the relationship has moved over the last couple of decades. That's true now more than ever," he continued.
Ratner said the two countries are seeing increasing strategic alignment.
"From our perspective, from India's perspective, we do share a vision again for a free and open Indo-Pacific. A strong US-India partnership is a critical ingredient to realising that vision. That's what both sides have understood that from India's perspective and from the US perspective, that a closer partnership is going to be essential to the manifestation of that vision," he said.
Amidst China's increasing military activities in the region, discussions have been underway among major global powers such as the US, India, and several others regarding the importance of establishing a free, open, and thriving Indo-Pacific.
China claims ownership over most of the contested South China Sea, a claim that the likes of Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam, also make. Beijing has constructed military facilities in the South China Sea in an attempt to solidify its claim.
"One of the major thrusts of the bilateral defence relationship and one of the things we were talking about, while we were in Delhi, is this ongoing US effort to support India's military modernisation," Ratner said.
"The integration of our defence industrial base is more co-production, co-development, and I think that is based upon the belief that a stronger India that can defend its own interest and its sovereignty is good for the United States," he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the US will set new benchmarks for bilateral ties, the Pentagon has said.
PM Modi will visit the United States at the invitation of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden on June 21.
"When Prime Minister Modi comes here to Washington for a State Visit later in the month, I think it will be a historic visit setting new benchmarks for the relationship," Ely Ratner, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, said at a panel discussion at the Center for New American Security on Thursday, PTI reported.
"I think it (the visit) will be looked back upon similar to how the Japan two plus two earlier this year was a pivotal moment in the relationship. People will be looking back on this visit by Prime Minister Modi as a real springboard for the US-India relationship," he added.
Ratner revealed that US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had visited India recently to finalise preparations and agreements for the upcoming state visit.
"Among the priorities are clear strategic alignment around the question of co-development and co-production between the United States and India on the defence side. This is a priority for Prime Minister Modi to strengthen India's indigenous defence industrial base, as well as advancing the military modernisation," he said.
Earlier in January, Ajit Doval and Jake Sullivan, the National Security Advisors of India and the US, respectively, had launched the initiative for critical and emerging technology (CET) in order to bolster ties on the technological fronts, as well advance things on the defensive end.
"I know there have been efforts at this in the past. Sometimes there's skepticism around, is it going to be real this time? And my answer is, I think, all signs are pointing toward yes, it's going to be real and we're going to have some really big, historic, exciting announcements out of the prime minister's visit in terms of particular projects around defence industrial cooperation," Ratner said.
"We are also enhancing our operational coordination in a number of different places. A lot of focus on the Indian Ocean, a lot of focus on the undersea domain, as well as new domains, space and cyber and new efforts around information sharing," he added.
"If you look at the development of the US-India relationship, it's really unbelievable how far the relationship has moved over the last couple of decades. That's true now more than ever," he continued.
Ratner said the two countries are seeing increasing strategic alignment.
"From our perspective, from India's perspective, we do share a vision again for a free and open Indo-Pacific. A strong US-India partnership is a critical ingredient to realising that vision. That's what both sides have understood that from India's perspective and from the US perspective, that a closer partnership is going to be essential to the manifestation of that vision," he said.
Amidst China's increasing military activities in the region, discussions have been underway among major global powers such as the US, India, and several others regarding the importance of establishing a free, open, and thriving Indo-Pacific.
China claims ownership over most of the contested South China Sea, a claim that the likes of Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam, also make. Beijing has constructed military facilities in the South China Sea in an attempt to solidify its claim.
"One of the major thrusts of the bilateral defence relationship and one of the things we were talking about, while we were in Delhi, is this ongoing US effort to support India's military modernisation," Ratner said.
"The integration of our defence industrial base is more co-production, co-development, and I think that is based upon the belief that a stronger India that can defend its own interest and its sovereignty is good for the United States," he added.