“The India-U.S. relationship can be a pillar of stability in an increasingly unsteady and uncertain world,” said Pradeep S Mehta, Secretary General, CUTS International. He was delivering Welcome Remarks at a workshop organised by CUTS International under the Defense News Conclave Project, being implemented with the support of the U.S. State Department (U.S. Consulate Kolkata) and knowledge support from the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC).
Pushan Das, India Head, Aerospace & Defense, USIBC gave brief
introductory remarks and said he looked forward to further programmes being
organised under this initiative.
This workshop series aims at creating awareness about the importance
of India-U.S. defense relations, particularly in the context of contemporary
developments in the Indo-Pacific region.
The first workshop, titled “The
Relevance of India-U.S. Defense Relations in the Indo-Pacific ”,saw
distinguished panellists addressing thematic issues relating toIndo-Pacific
geopolitics and geoeconomics, naval cooperation and maritime governance in
the Indo-Pacific region.
Jyoti Malhotra, Senior Consulting Editor, ThePrint and event
moderator, noted that the defense partnership underpins the India-U.S.
relationship.
Sanjaya Baru, Distinguished Fellow, United Service Institution of
India and Member, Management Board, CUTS International Washington DC Center,
traced the historical arc of India-U.S. defense relations. He observed that
the strategic relationship with the U.S. has always been intertwined with
transactional and commercial aspects involving arms transfers and the sale
of defense equipment. He cited the circumstances surrounding the 123
Agreementand India-U.S. cooperation on civilian nuclear energy in this
context.
Commodore Sujeet Samaddar, Founding Member, Society for Aerospace,
Maritime and Defence Studies (SAMDeS) highlighted the prospects for greater
India-U.S. cooperation in defense services, including by establishing ship
refurbishment and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities, which
can benefit all Quad navies.
Indranil Banerjie, Analyst, Foreign Policy and National Security
Issues, emphasised on the need for the Quad to deliver practical outcomes.
In this context, the panellists discussed how the recently unveiled
Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness initiative by the Quad is a step in
the right direction.
The experts also cautioned that unless there is a greater degree of
technology transfer between the two countries, the full potential of the
partnership in areas like joint research and development cannot be tapped.
This also needs to be accompanied by hardware exchanges between the armed
forces of the two sides in order to facilitate greater levels of
inter-operability.
With India’s approach to defense preparedness increasingly focusing on
greater self-reliance and indigenisation along with technology transfers,
the panellists discussed strategies and areas where greater American
investments can be sought in ramping up India’s domestic defense
manufacturing capacity.
This becomes important since the U.S. increasingly sees India playing the
role of a net security provider in the Indo-Pacific region, as was mentioned
by Adrian Pratt, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Consulate General Kolkata, in
his remarks.
The panel acknowledged that the entry of Chinese forces into the Indian
Ocean region had altered the strategic calculus. The capacity gaps between
the navies in the Indo-Pacific and the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)
are significant, and concerted efforts towards greater naval cooperation
will be required to maintain a deterring maritime presence in the region.
The discussion also touched upon other relevant thematic areas – including
the need for greater cooperation between India and the U.S. on aircraft
carriers, nuclear-powered submarines and in the space domain, as well as the
threat posed by climate change in the Indo-Pacific region, among others.
The virtual session saw enthusiastic participation, with over fifty
participants joining to hear experts deliberate on these issues.This was the
first of a series of such workshops, which have been conceptualised as
capacity-building sessions for media professionals, so that they can have a
more informed view of defense and strategic matters.
With its headquarters in Jaipur, India, CUTS International has regional
centres in Accra, Lusaka and Nairobi covering West, Southern and East
Africa. Besides them, it has centres in Hanoi, Geneva and Washington DC. In
India, it has a regional centre in Kolkata, a rural development centre in
Chittorgarh and a liaison office in New Delhi.
The authors work for the CUTS International Washington DC Center
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