PM Modi's US visit will set new benchmarks for bilateral ties: Pentagon

Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to the US this month will set new benchmarks for bilateral ties and big announcements are likely to be made on defence industrial cooperation and boosting Indias indigenous military base the Pentagon has saidPrime Minister Modi will embark on his first state visit to the US at the invitation of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden this month During his fourday visit starting on June 21 the US president and the First Lady will host Modi for a state dinner on June 22When 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 Assistant Secretary of Defense for IndoPacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner said during a panel discussion at the Center for New American Security on ThursdayI 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 USIndia relationship he saidRatner said US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited India recently to advance a number of bilateral issues and prepare the ground for the prime ministers visit to Washington by finalising particular agreements and initiatives that the two countries are working onAmong the priorities are clear strategic alignment around the question of codevelopment and coproduction between the United States and India on the defence side This is a priority for Prime Minister Modi to strengthen Indias indigenous defence industrial base as well as advancing the military modernisation he saidUS National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and his Indian Indian counterpart Ajit Doval here in January launched the initiative for critical and emerging technology iCET to try to bolster technology cooperation between the US and India and there is a very strong defence component of that that the two countries are looking to advanceI know there have been efforts at this in the past Sometimes theres skepticism around is it going to be real this time And my answer is I think all signs are pointing toward yes its going to be real and were going to have some really big historic exciting announcements out of the prime ministers visit in terms of particular projects around defence industrial cooperation Ratner saidWe 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 saidIf you look at the development of the USIndia relationship its really unbelievable how far the relationship has moved over the last couple of decades Thats true now more than ever he said Ratner said the two countries are seeing increasing strategic alignmentFrom our perspective from Indias perspective we do share a vision again for a free and open IndoPacific A strong USIndia partnership is a critical ingredient to realising that vision Thats what both sides have understood that from Indias perspective and from the US perspective that a closer partnership is going to be essential to the manifestation of that vision he saidThe US India and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free open and thriving IndoPacific in the backdrop of Chinas rising military manoeuvring in the region China claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea though Taiwan the Philippines Brunei Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China SeaOne 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 Indias military modernisation Ratner said The integration of our defence industrial base is more coproduction codevelopment 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 saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever