India-US defence partnership critical for US, beneficial for India

US Air Force Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh has termed the India-US defence partnership as critical for the United States and also beneficial to India.

During a meeting of Defence Writers Group,Welsh said that there is an opportunity to talk to the Indian Air Force to continue to develop a partnership that overtime could be very strong. He said that Pacific Air Forces and the US Pacific Command are very interested in building that partnership and pay a lot of attention to it.

What are India-US defence relations?

1.       US-India military relations derive from a common belief in freedom, democracy, and the rule of law, and seek to advance shared security interests. These interests include maintaining security and stability, defeating violent religious extremism and terrorism, preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction and associated materials, data, and technologies, and protecting the free flow of commerce.

2.      In recent years, India has conducted large joint military exercises with the US in the Indian Ocean called “Excise Malabar” .

 Exercise Malabar is a multilateral naval exercise involving the United States, India, Japan, Australia, and Singapore. The annual MALABAR series began in 1992, and includes diverse activities, ranging from fighter combat operations from aircraft carriers, through Maritime Interdiction Operations Exercises.

3.      In January 2004, the US and India launched the "Next Steps in Strategic Partnership" (NSSP), which was both a milestone in the transformation of the bilateral relationship and a blueprint for its further progress.

4.      In July 2007, the two countries reached a historic milestone in their strategic partnership by completing negotiations on the bilateral agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation, also known as the "123 Agreement."