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United States Secretary of Defence Lloyd J Austin will travel to India next week as part of his ninth official visit to the Indo-Pacific region, the US Department of Defence said.
Following his India visit, Austin would also go to South Korea and Indonesia. In India, he would meet his counterpart, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and participate in the fifth 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Following the Ministerial, Secretaries Blinken and Austin will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "As part of his ninth official visit to the Indo-Pacific region, Secretary Austin will travel to India to meet with his counterpart, Minster of Defence Rajnath Singh, to discuss expanding defence industrial cooperation, enhancing interoperability, and advancing innovation through the India-US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X). The Secretary and Minister Singh will also participate in the fifth 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue alongside Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Minister of External Affairs Dr S. Jaishankar. Following the Ministerial, Secretaries Blinken and Austin will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi," the US Defence Department release read. "Secretary Austin will then travel to the ROK for meetings with Minister of National Defence Shin Wonsik and other senior ROK leaders, including the 55th annual Security Consultative Meeting and the inaugural ROK-UN Command Member States Defence Ministerial Meeting. He will also meet with U.S. military commanders and service members on the Korean Peninsula, reaffirming the ironclad US extended deterrence commitment to the ROK," the release added. During his visit to South Korea, Austin will also mark Veterans Day by meeting with soldiers whose service and sacrifices have underwritten peace and security. "Secretary Austin will then travel to Indonesia for the 10th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM)-Plus. While in Jakarta, he will conduct an ASEAN-United States Informal Meeting to discuss opportunities to expand ASEAN-U.S. security cooperation, one year after the elevation of the ASEAN-U.S. relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. He will also meet with regional counterparts to express the United States' deep commitment to working alongside allies and partners in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific," the release read. The Secretary's fourth trip to the Indo-Pacific this year -- and his ninth since becoming Secretary of Defence -- comes as the United States, together with its allies and partners throughout the Indo-Pacific, maintains historic momentum towards a shared regional vision of peace, stability, and prosperity. The 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue is a diplomatic summit that has been held every year since 2018 initially between the Minister of External Affairs or Foreign Minister, and Defence Minister of India with the Secretary of State and Secretary of Defence of the United States to discuss and work on common issues of concern. India and the US have been holding these dialogues for further strengthening their strategic ties and this would be the fifth edition of these parleys, the government sources had earlier told ANI. The American side is also expected to push for military hardware cooperation and India is likely to ask for the sharing of high-end technology for developing indigenous weapon systems. India and the US have recently agreed to a USD 3 billion deal for supplying 31 MQ-9B Predator drones to Indian defence forces. The US is also pushing for the sale of six additional P-8I surveillance planes. (ANI)
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