India and US bilateral relation

India and the United States share a strong commitment to a set of principles that help maintain world security and prosperity, to open and free commerce and to abide by international standards and norms.

Growing ties

President Obama has said that the United States and India will be one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century, and I believe that to be true. Today we have growing economic, social, diplomatic ties that benefit both of our nations. But for this relationship to truly provide security for this region and for the world, we need to deepen our defence and our security cooperation, and this is why I have come to India.
America is at a turning point. After a decade of war, we are developing a new defence strategy for the 21st century; a central feature of that strategy is rebalancing toward the Asia-Pacific region. In particular, we will expand our military partnerships and our presence in the arc extending from the Western Pacific and East Asia into the Indian Ocean region and South Asia. Defence cooperation with India is a linchpin in this strategy.

Shared commitment

India is one of the largest and most dynamic countries in the region and, for that matter, in the world, with one of the most capable militaries. India also shares with the United States a strong commitment to a set of principles that help maintain international security and prosperity. We share a commitment to open and free commerce. We share a commitment to open access by all to our shared domains of sea, air, space and cyberspace. We share a commitment to resolving disputes without coercion or the use of force and in accordance with international law. We share a commitment to abide by international standards and international norms—rules of the road, if you will—which promote international stability and peace for the world. One of the ways we will advance these principles is to help develop the capabilities of countries who share these values, and India certainly is one of those countries.

Strategic cooperation

With regards to strategic cooperation, we’ve built a strong strategic relationship. That is the nature of the relationship between the United States and India. In my own experience, including during my visits here as director of the CIA, my Indian counterparts always offer clear strategic analysis and recommendations. We are transparent. We are honest in our discussions, something that has come to define the strength of our relationship.
During my two days here we discussed the new defence strategy that is guiding the United States’ military rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region. We also talked about the value of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional architecture in promoting international norms and in guaranteeing freedom of navigation. We discussed Afghanistan, where we have embarked on a transition to Afghan responsibility for security, for governance and for economic affairs.
India has supported this process through its own significant investments in Afghan reconstruction and has signed a long-term partnership agreement with Afghanistan. We are making significant progress towards a successful transition. The United States now has an enduring partnership agreement with Afghanistan, and we are committed to the long term in assuring that Afghanistan is a stable nation in this region of the world.
I urge India’s leaders to continue with additional support to Afghanistan through trade and investment, reconstruction and help for Afghan security forces. We both realise how important it is to ultimately have a stable Afghanistan if we are to have peace and prosperity in this region.
We also discussed India’s immediate neighbourhood. In particular, I welcomed the initial steps that India and Pakistan have taken to normalise trade relations. This is a process that we believe is key to resolving their differences and to helping Pakistan turn around its economy and counter extremism within its borders.
Pakistan is a complicated relationship, complicated for both of our countries, but it is one that we must continue to work to improve.
And finally, we exchanged views about other key issues, like piracy and terrorism, tensions in the South China Sea, our concerns about Iran, about North Korea's destabilising activities, and new challenges like cyber-intrusions and cyberwarfare.

Defence ties

What is it we can do to improve a practical defence partnership? At a very practical level, our defence partnership is coming of age. Expanded military exercises, defence sales, intelligence sharing are key examples of the relationship’s maturation. Last year alone we held more than 50 cooperative defence events. Some of the most significant include our military exercises, which enhance our ability to prepare for real-world challenges.
These engagements, these exercises provide opportunities for our militaries to learn from each other. This will sharpen our skills the next time we are called upon to interdict a weapons of mass destruction shipment or break up a terrorist plot or respond to a future tsunami.
We’ve also increased our defence sales relationship from virtually nothing early in the last decade to sales worth well over $8 billion today.
Finally, in terms of building collaboration, we have some early successes and are poised to embark on technology sharing, co-production and other initiatives that will be a great value to each of our nations.
Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky, India’s Tata Group are already jointly manufacturing spare parts for transport aircraft in Hyderabad. This project benefits each of our nations by creating jobs in India and America and strengthening our defence industries. Our shared goal should be to solidify progress and deepen defence engagement and cooperation in all of these areas.

Future strategies

So now let me turn to the future. At a strategic level, we have worked together to counter piracy, to counter terrorism, and now we should join forces to tackle new and even more complex threats.
We can do more to drive the creation of a rules-based order that protects our common interests in new areas like cybersecurity and space. We need to develop rules of the road in these domains to help confront dangerous activities by states and non-state actors alike.
In terms of regional security, our vision is a peaceful Indian Ocean region supported by growing Indian capabilities. America will do its part through doing things like rotating the presence of Marines in Australia. But the fundamental challenge here is to develop India’s capabilities so that it can respond to security challenges in this region.
As the United States and India deepen our defence partnership with each other, both of us will also seek to strengthen our relations with China.

Relationship with Pakistan

And again, with regard to Pakistan, India and the United States will need to continue to engage Pakistan, overcoming our respective and often deep differences with Pakistan, to make all of South Asia peaceful and prosperous.
And to improve our practical cooperation, I do believe that the United States’ and India’s participation in military exercises, which are already strong, should continue to be more regular and complex. And we must move beyond a focus on individual arms sales to regular cooperation that increases the quantity and the quality of our defence trade.
I want to stress that the United States is firmly committed to providing the best defence technology possible to India. We are both leaders in technology development, and we can do incredible work together.

Asia at crossroads

America’s involvement in Asia has an important past, but it has an even more important future. India is at the crossroads of Asia. It is at the crossroads of a new global economy, and it is at the crossroads of regional security. We, the United States, will stand with India at those crossroads.
The United States and India have built a strong foundation for defence cooperation in this new century. My country is committed to an even greater role in the Asia-Pacific, extending all the way to the Indian Ocean, and our attention and resources will advance partnerships throughout the region, including in particular a partnership with India.
Our two nations — our two nations may not agree on the solution to every challenge that faces us. And we both face the challenge of political gridlock at home that sometimes prohibits advancing our broader strategic objectives. But I am sure that we will continue to draw closer — closer together because we do share the same values, because the same challenges and threats confront both of our countries, and we share the same vision of a just and stable and peaceful regional order.
Our people, our businesses, our militaries and our governments will all be partners in this effort to serve the dream that guides both of our great democracies, the dream of building a better and more prosperous future for our children. Together as partners, we will help one another realise this great dream of the 21st century.