India, US will hold third 2+2 ministerial meeting in New Delhi next week

India and the US will maintain their third 2+2 ministerial assembly in New Delhi subsequent week, US secretary of defence Mark Esper mentioned on Tuesday.

He didn’t rule out the chance that the 2 sides might signal a extensively anticipated maritime info sharing settlement.

Esper and secretary of state Mike Pompeo will journey to New Delhi for day-long in-person conferences, a uncommon however important departure given the Covid-19 pandemic and the worldwide shift to digital interactions, with their Indian counterparts Rajnath Singh and S Jaishankar on October 27.

Separately, a bipartisan group of 14 US senators collectively expressed “strong support” for India’s choice to formally invite Australia to the upcoming Malabar naval workouts with the US and Japan saying it’s an “invaluable” transfer from an operational perspective and of “symbolic” significance.

“Secretary Pompeo and I will be there next week,” Esper mentioned at Atlantic Council, a assume tank, responding to a query in regards to the upcoming 2+2. “It’s our second two plus two with the Indians, the third ever for the United States and India and it’s very important.”

When pressed on the maritime info sharing settlement that has been extensively reportedly to be on the agenda, Esper mentioned, “We have a number of things we’ve been discussing with the Indians for, for some time w’ve made good progress on a number of them but we’ll release information on that when it’s appropriate.”

This would be the third version of the India-US 2+2 that began with India internet hosting the primary in 2018 in New Delhi; the United States hosted the second in Washington DC in 201.9.

An official announcement with particulars of the conferences and agenda was anticipated shortly. The two nations are additionally reported to signal BECA (Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement) on sharing of geospatial info, thought of the fourth and final of the foundational agreements.

Speaking broadly of ties with India, Esper mentioned India shall be “the most consequential partner for us, I think, in the Indo-Pacific for sure, in the century,” noting “they face off every day, the Chinese aggression in the Himalayas, specifically along that line of actual control”.

Of important developments within the defence sector within the final one 12 months, Esper listed out the first-ever tri-service army train – TIGER TRIUMPH – with India, USS Nimitz’s drills with the Indian Navy and the primary ever US-India defence cyber dialogue in September.

“As we expand our collaboration into new domains. Together, these efforts will strengthen what may become one of the most consequential partnerships of the 21st century,” he mentioned.

His sturdy endorsement of ties with India got here as14 US senators collectively recommended India’s invitation to Australia, in a collectively signed letter to Taranjit Singh Sandhu, the Indian ambassador to the US.

“We write in strong support of India’s decision to formally invite Australia to participate in the annual Exercise Malabar,” the senators wrote. “From an operational perspective, the addition of such a uniquely capable and stalwart partner, like Australia, to this naval exercise is invaluable, providing increased interoperability, strengthening threat assessment abilities and enhancing the maritime roles and missions of the four naval powers.

Equally important, they said, was the “symbolic nature” of the event marking the primary time the 4 nations will interact collectively on the army degree for the reason that formation of the Quad and the Quad-plus-Singapore naval workouts held in September 2007.

The signatories have been John Corny and Mark Warner, the Republican and Democratic co-chairs of the Senate India Caucus and Republicans Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, David Perdue, James Lankford, Josh Hawley, Dan Sullivan, Marsha Blackburn, Kelly Loeffler, Martha McSally, Thom Tillis and Kevin Cramer and the second Democrat Chris Coon.