UK to send warships to Indian Ocean as sign of close strategic ties with India: Defence Secy Shapps

The MoD said the latest deployment reflects a stepped-up partnership during the Indian Defence Minister's first visit to the UK this week.

New Delhi: The United Kingdom will send its Royal Navy’s Littoral Response Group task force and the Carrier Strike Group to the Indian Ocean region in 2024 and 2025 for joint training with the Indian Navy, British Defence Secretary, Grant Shapps, said as he hosted his counterpart from New Delhi, Rajnath Singh, in London.

Singh and Shapps also discussed future cooperation in defence from joint exercises to knowledge sharing and instructor exchanges, building on the comprehensive strategic partnership envisaged in the 2030 India-UK roadmap, which was announced a couple of years ago, according to the British High Commission in New Delhi.

They stressed enhancing defence industrial cooperation between India and the UK.

“In the coming years, the UK and India will also embark on more complex exercises between their respective militaries, building up to a landmark joint exercise to be conducted before the end of 2030, supporting shared goals of protecting critical trade routes and upholding the international rules-based system,” stated the British High Commission.

The meeting between Shapps and Singh in London was followed by the signing of two documents between India and the UK – a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the conduct of a bilateral international cadet exchange programme and a Letter of Arrangement between India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) on collaboration in research and development, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of Defence in New Delhi.

There is a symbiotic relationship between the two countries and the Government of India envisions an enriching partnership with the UK to cooperate, co-create and co-innovate, Singh said as he and Shapps co-chaired the India-UK Defence Industry CEOs Roundtable. “By synergising the strengths of our nations, we can do great things together,” said Singh. Shapps stated that the defence ties between India and the UK transcended the normal buyer-seller relationship and was fundamentally a strategic partnership.

Some of the major UK companies represented in the roundtable were BAE Systems, GE Vernova, James Fisher Defence, Leonardo S.p.A., Martin-Baker Aircraft Company Ltd, SAAB UK, Thales UK, Ultra-Maritime Rolls-Royce, ADS Group, and MBDA UK.

“There is absolutely no question that the world is becoming increasingly contested, so it’s vital that we continue to build on our strategic relationships with key partners like India. Together we share the same security challenges and are steadfast in our commitment to maintaining a free and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” said the UK Defence Secretary. “It is clear that this relationship is going from strength-to-strength, but we must continue to work hand-in-hand to uphold global security in light of threats and challenges that seek to destabilise and damage us.”

He noted that collaboration with industry was also key in the strategic defence partnership between the UK and India, with the two nations working together on electric propulsion systems that would power future fleets, and cooperating on the development of complex weapons.