US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin meets Ajit Doval, calls on PM Modi

China’s aggression along its disputed boundary with India as well as elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific region came up for discussion as the United States Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin had a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Friday.

Austin called on Modi and had a meeting with Doval shortly after arriving in New Delhi. He will have a meeting with his counterpart Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday.

“Thrilled to be here in India. The breadth of cooperation between our two nations reflects the significance of our major defense (defence) partnership, as we work together to address the most pressing challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region,” the US Secretary of Defence posted on Twitter after landing in New Delhi.

Austin is the first top US official to visit New Delhi after the change of guard at the White House in Washington DC. He arrived in New Delhi less than two months after Joe Biden took over as the US President, succeeding Donald Trump.

His visit to New Delhi comes close on the heels of the historic first summit of the Quad, a coalition forged by India, Japan, Australia and the US to counter China in the Indo-Pacific.

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Sources told DH that Doval and Austin had discussed India-China military stand-off in eastern Ladakh. The National Security Advisor had apprised the US Secretary of Defence about the progress in India-China bilateral talks to resolve the stand-off. They had also discussed China’s belligerence in the disputed waters of South China Sea, East China Sea, Taiwan Strait and elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific region, sources added.

The Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) last month withdrew front-line troops from the northern and the southern banks of Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh. The mutual disengagement from both banks of the lake raised hope for an early end to the military stand-off, which had started in late April and early May in 2020 and had taken the bilateral relations to a new low over the past 11 months. The senior military commanders of the two sides started discussion for withdrawal of troops from other face-off points along the LAC, like Hot Springs, Depsang and Gogra Post, but could not yet work out a mutually acceptable plan.

Austin earlier called on Modi, who stressed on the important role of bilateral defence cooperation in the relations of India and the US, according to a press-release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office after the meeting.

The Prime Minister also noted during his discussion with the American Secretary of Defence that the “warm and close relationship” between India and the US was “rooted in shared values of democracy, pluralism and commitment to a rules-based order”.

Austin reiterated the US Government’s continued commitment towards strengthening the bilateral defence relations between the two countries. He expressed the US's strong desire to further enhance the strategic partnership for peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.