India, US partners in defence, says American commander

Washington, December 8

India and the US are global partners in defence and regional security, a top American commander has said, as Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman toured the headquarters of the strategic Indo-Pacific command in Hawaii before concluding her maiden visit to America.

Sitharaman described her US visit as part of her endeavour to “take forward the bilateral defence cooperation”.

Noting that the India-US relationship in defence has acquired the dimensions of a strategic partnership over the last decade, she said that the two countries have made considerable progress.

Sitharaman capped off her trip with a visit to Hawaii -– the headquarters of what early this year was rechristened as US Indo-Pacific Command. The US calls Asia Pacific as Indo-Pacific. It has renamed Pacific Command as Indo-Pacific Command or INDOPACOM.

“Our two democratic nations are committed to upholding a rule-based international order which has brought decades of peace, stability and prosperity. We are global partners on defence and security, and this exemplifies our mutual cooperation to assure a free and open Indo-Pacific,” said US INDOPACOM Commander Admiral Phil Davidson. — PTI