Chief of the Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan and US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Mark A Miley

The two military leaders discussed ways to strengthen bilateral military ties and interoperability, according to a readout of the call released on Wednesday by Joint Staff Deputy Spokesperson Joseph R Holstead

The call between US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Mark A Miley and his Indian counterpart Chief of the Indian Defence Force Gen Anil Chauhan came amid increased border tensions between India and China.

In order to strengthen US-India military ties, the two countries defence chiefs shared their assessments of the regional and global security environments on phonecall and discussed ways to expand bilateral cooperation and interoperability.

The call between US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Mark A Milley and his Indian counterpart Chief of the Indian Defence Force Gen Anil Chauhan came amid increased border tensions between India and China.

The two military leaders discussed ways to strengthen bilateral military ties and interoperability, according to a readout of the call released on Wednesday by Joint Staff Deputy Spokesperson Joseph R Holstead.

Under the US-India Major Defence Partnership, the United States and India have a strong military-to-military relationship and India plays a “critical role” in maintaining a free Indo-Pacific, Holstead said.

According to him, India is a critical regional leader and an important partner in maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific.

The United States, India and other world powers have been discussing the importance of ensuring a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the face of China's rising military manoeuvring in the resource-rich and strategically important region.

Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of the disputed South China Sea.

In the South China Sea, Beijing has constructed artificial islands and military installations. In the East China Sea, China also has territorial disputes with Japan.

In 2017, the United States, Australia, India and Japan shaped the long-pending proposal of establishing the Quad to develop a new strategy to keep the Indo-Pacific region's critical sea routes free of influence.

On 9 December, Chinese and Indian troops clashed again in the Yangtse area of Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang sector, the first such major flare-up since the deadly hand-to-hand combat in the Galwan Valley in June 2020, which marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.