According to senior defense officials, speaking in the background, the US and India have a shared interest in supporting freedom of navigation and ‘free, fair and reciprocal trade’, as well as the peaceful resolution of disputes in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. to discuss sensitive bilateral talks.
“To the extent that China or anyone else wants to undermine these principles or challenge those principles, it’s part of the way you build these relationships and build these networks to balance or stand up for them,” the person said. .
Austin’s arrival in New Delhi is the third stop on his first overseas trip as Pentagon chief and comes after visits to Japan and South Korea for meetings with Foreign Minister Antony Blinken, and their Japanese and Korean counterparts. After his talks with Modi, Austin will meet with India’s national security adviser, the senior defense official said. On Saturday, Austin will sit down with Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State.
The US has for years sought to strengthen its partnership with India through increased military cooperation, particularly with the Indian Navy, and arms sales. But one problem could be that India buys the advanced Russian S-400 missile system. The US has imposed sanctions on NATO ally Turkey for its own purchase of the S-400 under the Opposition Americans Act through sanctions, but has not yet punished India for the same acquisition.
India’s potential operation of the S-400 will be a problem for the US; the system is designed to detect and target advanced American fighter jets such as the F-35.
The senior defense official did not want to say whether the US weighs sanctions on the S-400, but notes that the system has not yet been delivered to India, an event that is likely to result in fines.
“The purchase of US equipment is not a condition for the promotion of cooperation, our promotion of cooperation is based on the confluence of strategic interests,” the senior defense official said, adding that the purchase of equipment that can work together “definitely one way is to be able to use it. partnership. ”
Another senior defense official declined to comment on whether Austin would speak to Indian officials about Modi’s harsh treatment of India’s Muslim population, but said: “We regularly bring up human rights issues.”
The goal in the Indo-Pacific is to build the existing “hub-and-spoke” bilateral relations between the different countries into ‘more a network of overlapping relations’ that can do a better job of sharing and sharing information working on military operations, the senior defense official said.
“The person will look very different from the NATO alliance.” ‘It’s going to look very unique; it’s going to be something that fits with how the Indo-Pacific developed. ”