US Defense Secretary praises Indian Navy’s “robust contribution” to safeguarding freedom of navigation and regional security

Washington DC: US ​​Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, during his meeting with Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, praised the Indian Navy for its “robust contributions” in maintaining freedom of navigation and regional security.

As Lloyd Austin welcomed Rajnath Singh to the Pentagon on Friday, he discussed ongoing efforts to deepen the defense partnership between the United States and India in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, the U.S. Department of Defense said in a statement.

Secretary Austin and Minister Singh acknowledged progress on several bilateral defense initiatives, including efforts to increase supply chain security, improve maritime security in the Indian Ocean, and leverage a new agreement to strengthen operational coordination by Indian liaison officers with U.S. commands.

They agreed to advance priority joint production projects, including engines, unmanned platforms, munitions and ground mobility systems, as part of the US-India roadmap for defense industrial cooperation.

They also held advanced discussions on expanding cooperation in the submarine and space sectors and welcomed the ongoing implementation of the India-US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X), the third summit of which will be held in Silicon Valley in September this year.

Lloyd Austin and Rajnath Singh welcomed the conclusion of a security of supply agreement that will further integrate the defense industrial ecosystems of both countries while strengthening supply chain resilience. Minister Austin praised the Indian Navy's strong contributions to preserving freedom of navigation and regional security through its participation in the Joint Naval Forces and welcomed India's leadership role in Combined Task Force 150 in 2025, the statement said. Minister Austin and Minister Singh reviewed joint efforts under the Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness Initiative to provide unclassified commercial satellite data to partners in the Indian Ocean region to enhance their maritime security and ability to detect illicit activities.

Both politicians looked forward to the opportunity to meet again at the next 2+2 ministerial dialogue, the statement added.

The Secretary of Defense is on a four-day visit to the United States.

On social media platform X, Rajnath Singh said that both sides had reviewed existing defence cooperation activities.

“An excellent meeting with my dear friend, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. We reviewed existing defense cooperation activities and discussed ways to further deepen them. The signing of security of supply agreements and the agreement to station Indian officers in key U.S. commands are groundbreaking developments,” he said.