US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin are set to visit India on November 10 to attend the fifth India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue. According to Union external affairs ministry, this year's meeting will entail a high-level review of progress in defence and security cooperation as well as in technology value chain collaborations and people-to-people ties.
“The Ministers will take the opportutnity to progress the futuristic roadmap for the India-US partnership as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden, in their discussions in June and September this year,” the ministry said in a statement.
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Apart from the 2+2 dialogue, Union defence minister Rajnath Singh and Union external affairs minister S Jaishankar will have bilateral-level meeting with thier respective US counterparts.
The meeting is seen as a crucial platform at a time of changing global landscape, where a dialogue between India and the US could serve both the nations' unwavering commitment towards a robust partnership and working for a free and open Indo-Pacific.
The Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region, comprising the Indian Ocean and the western and central Pacific Ocean, including the South China Sea.
{{/usCountry}}The Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region, comprising the Indian Ocean and the western and central Pacific Ocean, including the South China Sea.
{{/usCountry}}The US, India and several other world powers have been discussing the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China's rising military manoeuvring in the resource-rich region.
China claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it. Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea. China also has territorial disputes with Japan in the East China Sea.
The dialogue also comes at a critical juncture amid two major conflicts between Israel and Hamas; Russia and Ukraine, for which the West have been pressing India for a stand. Although the ongloing concflicts have no direct impact on the India-US relationship, they create a backdrop that influences the strategic dynamics and global perspective of both nations, experts believe.
(With agency inputs)