The 2+2 US-India diplomatic and defense dialogue taking place today, November 10, is of interest because it will clarify the depth of the relationship considered "above partner, below ally".
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| The 2+2 US-India diplomatic and defense dialogue is of interest because it will clarify the depth of the relationship considered 'above partner, below ally'. (Source: YouTube) |
Remember, at the US-India Summit in June 2023, to affirm that the US-India relationship is "one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world today", Washington and New Dehli signed a series of important agreements.
Now, at the highest level of assessment on many issues, from defense, nuclear, space, cyber security, visas to health ... this dialogue between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin with their counterparts of the host country Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Rajnath Singh will have to concretize those commitments.
First and foremost are the areas of technology and defense, the two main pillars that shape the US-India relationship. The memorandum of understanding between General Electric (GE) and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) to manufacture 99 GE F414 jet engines in India has been signed, but specific details such as the extent of India’s participation in the development of prototypes and testing of the engines still need to be clarified.
General Atomics’ plan to assemble 31 advanced MQ-9B unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and build a global maintenance, repair and overhaul facility in India will also have to accelerate towards promoting research and production cooperation rather than stopping at business activities, affirming the US commitment to remove trade barriers with India in the defense and high-tech sectors.
The plan to position India as an alternative to China in the global supply chain needs concrete steps. In addition, bilateral and global concerns, developments in the Indo-Pacific region and India’s role will also be discussed.
Only when entering into such concrete cooperation can the US-India relationship be considered to have a qualitative change.
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