{"id":15732,"date":"2022-04-11T23:32:31","date_gmt":"2022-04-11T23:32:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2022\/04\/11\/despite-russia-tensions-us-and-india-deepen-defense-ties\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:29:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:29:57","slug":"despite-russia-tensions-us-and-india-deepen-defense-ties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/2022\/04\/11\/despite-russia-tensions-us-and-india-deepen-defense-ties\/","title":{"rendered":"Despite Russia tensions, US and India deepen defense ties"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 Eyeing China<\/a>, U.S. and India committed to deeper defense ties in space and cyberspace as well as an expansion of their joint military exercises, officials from both countries announced Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin<\/a> and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken<\/a> met in Washington with their Indian counterparts \u2014 Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar \u2014 amid rising tensions between the allies over India\u2019s muted criticism of Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. President Joe Biden <\/a>spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi <\/a>virtually before the \u201ctwo-plus-two meeting\u201d about managing climate change, fighting COVID-19 and mitigating economic shocks from the invasion of Ukraine. Afterward, Indian officials emphasized their call for an end to the war and New Delhi\u2019s provision of humanitarian aid in the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few details on the defense agreements were released immediately, but Austin said the U.S. signed an agreement with India on space situational awareness and exchanges between U.S. Space Command and India\u2019s Defense Space Agency<\/a> \u2015 and to deepen cyberspace cooperation through training and exercises later this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Financing options to make U.S. weaponry more affordable, to wean India from its reliance on Russian military equipment<\/a>, are part of ongoing discussions, Austin said. He also said the nations agreed to unspecified \u201csupply chain cooperation measures that will let us swiftly support each others\u2019 priorities in defense requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIndia continues to acquire key U.S. defense platforms, and that is forging important and new ties between our defense-industrial bases,\u201d Austin said. \u201cWe\u2019re doing all this because the United States supports India as a defense industry leader in the Indo-Pacific and a net provider of security in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe People\u2019s Republic of China is seeking to refashion the region and the international system more broadly, in ways that serve its interest and so I\u2019m pleased that we\u2019ve identified new opportunities to extend operational reach of our militaries, and to coordinate more closely across the expanse of the Indo-Pacific,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\t