NEW DELHI – Chief of US Air Force General David L Goldfein has said Indianand US air forces will significantly ramp up operational cooperation tocomplement the strategic interests of the two countries in the Indo-Pacificregion where China has been expanding its military influence.
Calling India a “central strategic partner” of the US in pursuing commoninterests in the region, he said two of the world’s largest air forces weregoing to jointly shift the focus on the Indo-Pacific region and assertedthat the rules-based order must be preserved in the critical sea lanes.Goldfein, who held extensive talks with Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa andthe top brass of the defence set-up during his three-day India visit thatended yesterday, said the “Quadrilateral” coalition among the US, India,Japan and Australia would provide for deeper cooperation between the Indianand American air forces.
Asked if cooperation between the two forces would deepen in the wake of thefour countries joining hands with an aim at containing China’s influence inthe Indo-Pacific region, he replied, “I do (think so) and that is a bigpart of my visit and in my discussions here”.
In June Last year, two Lancer heavy strategic bombers of the US Air Forcehad conducted flights over the South China Sea, sending a clear message toChina against its military build-up in the disputed area. Three US aircraftcarriers –the USS Nimitz, USS Ronald Reaganlink> and USS Theodore Roosevelt-have also been operating in the Indo-Pacific region. “We have commoninterests in preserving the rules-based order. So while we look foropportunities for partnerships, it is actually appropriate also for us tobe critical for those who are trying to change that in ways that may notbenefit the region,” he told PTI in an interview here.
In November, India, the US, Australia and Japan gave shape to thelong-pending “Quad” to develop a new strategy to keep the critical searoutes in the Indo-Pacific free of Chinese influence. Referring to the“Quad” or “quadrilateral coalition”, the US Air Force Chief said there wasa natural convergence among the four countries to work towards preservingthe rules-based order, adding cooperation between Indian and US air forceswould increase at several levels. “India is absolutely a central strategicpartner in moving forward in our common interests, and where we take thisin the future is the purpose of my visit,” he said.
Goldfein, who has 4,200 flying hours under his belt and flew in the Gulfwar and in Afghanistan, also talked about India’s place as mentioned in therecently unveiled national defence strategy of the US. “It will be at anumber of levels. It is on interoperability, how do we look beyond newplatforms and sensors and look more broadly in the longer term,” he saidabout cooperation between the US and the Indian air forces.
The visit assumes significance as he was accompanied by TerrenceO’Shaughnessy, Commander of the US Pacific Air Force.
Goldfein did not give a direct reply when asked if the US would increaseits military presence in the South China Sea. “We want to be strategicallypredictable but operationally unpredictable. I am not going to share withour adversaries what our intentions are. If in fact, we are to increase ourpresence or decrease our presence, that is something we will do at our timeand place of our choosing,” he said. India, US and several other nationshave been pressing for freedom of navigation in the disputed South ChinaSea. The US has been periodically sending naval ships and planes to assertfreedom of navigation, much to the chagrin of China.
The US Air Force Chief said connecting capabilities of the two forces willbe one of the priority areas to enhance interoperability. Elaborating, hesaid the focus of the cooperation will be to “make decisions faster thanour adversaries and then act in ways that may bring multiple dilemmas at apace the adversary could never keep up with”. “I believe that’s going tohelp us to find deterrence in the 21st century. Being able to producemultiple dilemmas means being able to operate simultaneously from alldomains. So as we look at our partnership with IAF, the question for me isnot perhaps what individual platforms and sensors we can bring but how dowe bring increasing connectivity, how do we actually connect ourcapabilities in ways that allow us to act, to observe or decide and actfaster than our adversaries. That is a big idea going forward,” he said.
Goldfein also talked about his and IAF chief Dhanoa’s roles in “combatcampaign” in Kosovo and Kargil in 1999. “He was leading in the Kargilcampaign and I was involved in the Kosovo campaign. He was developing nighttactics as a squadron commander and I was also developing night tactics asa squadron commander… Who would have thought that the two squadroncommanders engaged in combats, building similar tactics, grow up to be thechiefs of two of the largest and most professional air forces on theplanet,” he said. “Where do we take that. Again we have these relationshipsbuilt at all levels, I am excited. There is plenty of opportunities,” headded.
US President Donald Trump, in his first prime-time televised address to thenation as commander-in-chief last year, had laid out his South Asia policysaying a “critical part” of it was to further develop the US’s strategicpartnership with India. In June 2016, the US had designated India a “MajorDefence Partner” intending to elevate defence trade and technology sharingwith India to a level commensurate with that of its closest allies andpartners. – PTI