‘Work underway on bilateral defense cooperation with India’
A senior US State Department official said that India can expect the US to stand by it in the face of China’s challenge. “We showed that resolve in 2020 during the Galwan crisis and we have been looking for opportunities to cooperate with India on military equipment and exercises, apart from sharing information,” he said. He said that a major Indo-US bilateral defense cooperation is underway to enable India to manufacture state-of-the-art modern defense equipment. It is expected that an announcement will be made in this regard in the next few months.
Donald Lu said, ‘I think it is very appropriate for India to produce world-class defense equipment for its own needs and to become an exporter to the world.’ However, the senior MEA official did not give any details about the major defense cooperation to manufacture modern and sophisticated defense equipment in India. “We are already a major partner in the defense sector. In the last 20 years, we have had a defense trade of more than 20 billion dollars. I know that our private companies and our governments, our defense ministries are in constant contact and discussing how we can enhance cooperation.
