“The (India-US Ministerial Dialogue) strategy is economics, its governance, it’s strategic military to military, but you have to acknowledge today that the threat to the free and open nature of the Indo-Pacific and the broader threat to the post-World War II order has been China’s increasing assertiveness

by Daya Gamage

“So there is a geopolitical I think understanding that like-minded countries, most importantly India and the United States, need to be able to stand for the values of free and open, but it has to be more than rhetoric.”

A week before the United States and India held the Ministerial Dialogue between the two nations’ defence and foreign ministers, the objective and the trajectory of the summit was clearly spelled out by State Department’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells when she addressed the Atlantic Council on December 11 in Washington, D.C. which reflect in the quotes noted above.

Do The Two Flags Signify The Military Bond Between The U.S. And India?

She continued to elaborate in that address:

“I think India from the very beginning recognised, for instance, (China’s) Belt and Road Strategy for what it was. A geopolitical play to advance China’s specific interests, not the development needs of the countries where it was operating. Increasingly we’ve seen in places, whether it’s Sri Lanka and Maldives in the near neighbourhood, or Pakistan or Malaysia or others, what BRI has come to stand for. So I see a great deal of commonality in the U.S. and India approach.”

Following the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue held on December 18 India’s Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh declared at the media event “During the meeting, we shared our assessments of the situation in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Indian Ocean region in general.”

The entire discussion between the two countries defence and foreign ministers centred on the issue of Indo-Pacific region – stretching from the east coast of Africa through South Asia to the East, and the strategy to meet the Chinese increasing assertiveness to spread its tentacles in the region.

To this India-US manoeuvres, discussed on December 18, were to go beyond the First Ministerial Dialogue of the 2+2 held last year September in New Delhi after the mechanism was approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump, and the literal states in the region fell within this grand strategy: Sri Lanka was one among others such as Maldives, Nepal, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In fact, Trump and Modi met four time this year to finalise the blueprint of India-US defence collaboration.

The much-discussed Acquisition and Cross Service Agreement (ACSA), the 83-page military pact signed between the United States and Sri Lanka on 4 August 2017, is part of this grand strategy of a united military front, between the U.S. and India. This was an extension from the ACSA signed in 2007 by the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration. In an earlier report, the Asian Tribune quoted classified diplomatic cable-exchange between the U.S. diplomatic mission in Colombo and State Department in Washington – an exchange one month prior to the signing of the 2007 agreement - confidently saying that the agreement largely benefited the United States.

Outcome of 18 December, 2019 US-India Dialogue

U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Secretary of Defence Mark T Esper welcomed India’s Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh and Minister of External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar to Washington, D.C. for the second annual India-U.S. 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue.

Both the United States and India reiterated their commitment to a free, open, inclusive, peaceful, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. Appreciating the convergence in their respective Indo-Pacific visions, the two countries reiterated their support for ASEAN centrality, rule of law, freedom of navigation and over flight, peaceful resolution of disputes, and sustainable and transparent infrastructure investment. It was reaffirmed that closer India-U.S. cooperation is instrumental to promoting security and prosperity in the broader Indo-Pacific region and beyond.

At the summit meeting in Washington, D.C. the Ministers committed to a common vision for the India-U.S. Major Defence Partnership that recognises both the U.S. and India’s shared desire to build a comprehensive, enduring, and mutually-beneficial defence partnership and to expand all aspects of their security and defence cooperation.

The dialogue committed to enhance cooperation between the Indian Navy and the U.S. Navy Fleets under U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Central Command, and Africa Command, and intend to expand similar cooperation between their respective Armies and Air Forces.

Previously the two countries signed the Industrial Security Annex (ISA) which will facilitate the exchange of classified military information between Indian and the U.S. defence industries.

At the dialogue, both sides also committed to further deepen military-to-military cooperation, including between the Indian Navy and the US Navy Fleets under US Indo-Pacific Command, Central Command, and Africa Command and intend to expand similar cooperation between their respective Armies and Air Forces.

At the dialogue, both sides positively appraised the growing partnership between India and the United States, and noted that important milestones had been achieved since the inaugural 2+2 dialogue in New Delhi in 2018.

Both sides reiterated their commitment to advancing a free, open, inclusive, peaceful, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.

It should be stated here, recently, the US State Department cleared the sale to India of up to thirteen MK 45 5 inch/62 calibre (MOD 4) naval guns and three thousand five hundred D349 Projectile, 5”/54 MK 92 MOD 1 Ammunition at an estimated cost of USD 1.0210 billion. The clearance’s press notification notes the proposed sale to “support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the security of a strategic regional partner.” Thus, while the long-drawn process of procuring the naval guns has only begun, the timing of the clearance – in the run up to the consultative dialogue – reflects the prioritisation of the transfer.

Both sides exchanged notes on developments in West Asia, the Af-Pak region, and the growing shadow of China over the Indo-Pacific.

Beijing’s beefing up of the Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, with two aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines, and its impact on the Indo-Pacific, is also a matter of concern for both countries.

The US has always wanted India to focus more on Indo-Pacific and align itself with American grand strategy.

Both nations largely and critically focused on Chinese expansion in the Indo-Pacific region. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addressing the media briefing following the Ministerial Dialogue reiterated: “On China, we discussed the risks that Chinese-built communication networks, including 5G, pose to our treasured freedoms and how China’s unfair and predatory economic activity in the Indo-Pacific presents a risk to those very freedoms.”

Following the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue held on December 18 India’s Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh declared at the media event “During the meeting, we shared our assessments of the situation in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Indian Ocean region in general.”

Defence Secretary Esper pronounced a broader scenario how the defence agreements between the two countries work when he declared: The two countries “defence, trade, and technology ties continue to grow. Today, we are proud to conclude the Industrial Security Annex, which will facilitate collaboration between our defence industries by supporting the secure transfer of key information and technology. We also finalised three agreements under the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative, which will enhance our ability to co-produce and co-develop critical technologies.”

The Asian Tribune monitoring the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue between the U.S. and India was convinced that the literal states in the region are drawn into the equation in this strengthened defence ties and collaboration. This clearly manifested during the Talks between the two countries on December 18 and before, and Asian Tribune understands that those literal countries in South and East Asia that went into military pacts – such as ACSA and SOFA – are unable to move away from the undertaking especially following the further strengthened military/defence ties/understanding between the United States and India. In this report we have given ample evidence how the two countries have agreed to draw the literal states into their orbit to make the manoeuvres in the Indo-Pacific region a success and sustainable: the manoeuvres and strategy to frustrate China’s efforts in the region.