Opinion Express View on US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin’s visit: Defence on the table

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin’s visit brought further reiteration of what is already known. India, a “Major Defence Partner” of the US since 2016, wants access to advanced defence technology that the US political class does not easily agree to part with. But the war in Ukraine has given the Biden Administration a pause for thought — might Delhi have adopted a neutral position on Russia’s invasion had it not been so dependent on Moscow for its defence supplies? As India continues to work around sanctions and do business with Russia, Washington’s Indo-Pacific agenda has forced it to see this from the eyes of a crucial Quad partner, the only one with a land border with China.

At the same time, Delhi is also acutely aware that it can no longer be as dependent on Moscow for its defence requirements as it has been through the decades. Both sides sense in this an opportunity — India, to push its list of what it wants from the US as it presses the button on self-reliance in defence production; the US, to give its defence industry a big boost by selling to one of the world’s biggest buyers of military hardware. The crucial test of where the two will meet is a jet engine manufactured by the US company, General Electric. India wants the technology, and the Biden Administration is reported to have greenlighted the transfer. But will the proposal get Congressional approval? In this context, Austin’s talks with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh were designed to be a perfect stage-setter for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official visit to Washington, during which the jet engine deal — discussions are said to be at an “advanced stage” — is being touted as a possible breakthrough.

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Singh has reportedly conveyed to his counterpart that the US must not place “stringent hurdles” in defence collaboration with India, both in the transfer of critical technology and in sales of military equipment. A US statement on the talks said a new “Roadmap for US-India Defence Industrial Co-operation” had been concluded and would “fast-track technology co-operation and co-production” in India’s defence needs, including submarine technology. Both sides are also said to be negotiating a “security of supply” agreement, and a “reciprocal defence procurement” agreement. The US-India Initiative of Critical and Emerging Technologies launched by the two NSAs earlier is also a key piece of the new bilateral defence imagination. As the defence partnership deepens, the benefits to India will also depend on the extent of its buy-in for US security objectives in the region.