WASHINGTON – India and the US have a shared interest that their naviesprovide security which guarantees a peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacificregion, US Navy chief has said, PTI has reported.
US chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson had a meeting at thePentagon with Indian Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba who is on a five-dayvisit to America. It was Richardson’s fourth meeting with Lanba. The twohad last met at the IMDEX Asia defence conference in May 2017.
“We have a shared interest that our navies provide the security thatunderwrites a peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific region,” Richardson toldPTI yesterday after his meeting with Lanba. “I’ve met often with AdmiralLanba and our discussions center on a naval partnership built on respectand trust,” he said.
The two heads of Navy met with Secretary of Navy Richard V Spencer anddiscussed ways to improve interoperability to include additional navalexercises and staff talks, said a Pentagon readout of the meeting.
“Naval exercises like Malabar and the Rim-of-the-Pacific are examples ofour deepening cooperation and I look forward to continuing to exploreopportunities that increase our interoperability,” Richardson said.
He is on a five-day visit to the US during which he will hold extensivetalks with the top military brass of the Trump administration toconsolidate bilateral naval cooperation, including in the Indo-Pacificregion. The US has been pushing for a broader role for India in thestrategically important Indo-Pacific region.
In November last year, India, the US, Australia and Japan gave shape to thelong-pending Quad or quadrilateral corridor to develop a new strategy tokeep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free from Chineseinfluence. “The relationship between the US Navy and the Indian Navy hasnever been stronger,” said Richardson.
“There has been meaningful progress made in strengthening the cooperationbetween our two-great democratic and maritime nations. We are exploringevery way to expand that partnership even further based on our sharedinterests,” he said.
India was accorded Major Defence Partner status by the US in 2016, bringingNew Delhi on par with Washington’s closest allies for defence-related tradeand technology transfer.
The Indian Navy cooperates with the US Navy on several fronts which includeoperational interactions such as the Malabar naval exercise and exchange ofwhite shipping information. Warships from both navies have also beenregularly visiting each other’s ports.