China’s aggression in Ladakh, terrorism in the area, and plans for more cement Defence relations between India and the United States will likely be at the top of the agenda when US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrives in India this evening for the first in-person meeting between the Modi government and the Biden administration, according to people familiar with the situation.
“This is Secretary Austin’s first trip outside of the United States since the Quad Summit, and the first high-level visit by a senior official from the current US administration. Meetings would focus on broad issues rather than a comprehensive exchange of information, according to a senior government official.
India is the third stop on Austin’s three-nation tour, which is part of the Biden administration’s attempt to forge a united front against China, which Austin famously referred to as the “pacing challenge.”
“China… presents the most significant threat going forward because China is ascending,” Austin told the Senate affirmation hearing again in January, emphasising that the threat from Moscow “is in decline” in comparison to Beijing.
“Our mission is to ensure that we have the capabilities, tactical strategies, and principles necessary to provide credible deterrence to China or anyone else attempting to challenge the United States.”
Austin’s arrival in Delhi coincides with a crucial meeting in Alaska between top Biden administration officials and President Xi Jinping’s China. By all accounts, this will be a tense meeting, with Washington choosing to red flag its concerns over a range of topics, including human rights in Tibet, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and western Xinjiang, in addition to China’s assertiveness in the region. These are the problems that Xi Jinping’s party claims the Biden administration should stop.
Before the meeting even started, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken ratcheted up the rhetoric, citing Beijing’s “consistent failure to honour its commitments” and “violent and repressive conduct” as threats to the Indo-Pacific region’s stability.
As Austin hosts conferences with top Indian leaders, this is a subject that is likely to come up. After landing in Delhi, the former US Central Command chief will hold talks with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval; the two sides are expected to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation and counter-terrorism.
After seeing the emergence of the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria as the twelfth Central Command leader, Secretary Austin is well-versed in the threat of radicalization and terrorism to global security. He also has firsthand knowledge of the threat that terrorist groups in Pakistan pose to India.
Tomorrow, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will formally welcome Secretary Austin. The visiting US official might even mention Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but there is no way of knowing when this meeting will take place.
The Indian side is expected to brief the visiting dignitary on the ongoing standoff with China in East Ladakh, where the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) continues to disengage from the Gogra-Hot Springs and Depsang regions, according to officials.
Beijing has been gradually withdrawing troops from the tension factors rather than fully disengaging from the entire stretch of the Line of Actual Control. China wants Delhi to separate the border dispute from bilateral ties and restore the financial relationship, regardless of what happened on the north banks of the Pangong Tso and elsewhere in May 2020.
The United States, which has been closely following the East Ladakh standoff, is fairly straightforward on PLA violence and has given some thought to PLA functionality in the Western Theatre with India. When leaders of the four-nation Quad grouping met for the first time, they discussed the tensions between the two international locations in the East Ladakh sector and promised to hold a second in-person meeting later this year.
The debate at Austin’s Delhi conferences may be a lot more nuanced.
During Secretary Austin’s visit, the two sides are unlikely to sign any deals, but they do expect to finalise a plan for deepening defence cooperation and intelligence sharing in the Indo-Pacific. This will be accomplished by interoperability drills and joint training aimed at making them the first responders in the vast ocean, while the navies of the other two Quad members, Japan and Australia, hold the opposite fringes. The Quad navies, as well as France, will train in the Bay of Bengal from April 4 to 7, under the La Perouse banner.
India and the United States have a good defence technology relationship, with Washington now willing to supply various high-end technologies for manufacture in India under the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” banner. Plane motors, long-range drones, planes, and multi-utility helicopters are only a few examples of devices that come to mind. Apart from additional sea surveillance aircraft, India has already finalised its plans to buy Predator drones from the United States.
By Tanya Singh
