PM Modi, Johnson agree to enhance India-UK defence partnership ANI | Updated: May 04, 2021 23:10 IST
New Delhi [India], May 4 (ANI): In the virtual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Boris Johnson, both leaders agreed to enhance the India-UK defence partnership with a particular focus on maritime and industrial collaboration.
According to a press release by the British High Commission (BHC), the leaders reaffirmed the benefits of closer cooperation in a free and open Indo-Pacific, recognising their shared interest in regional prosperity and stability.
They agreed to significant new cooperation on Maritime Domain Awareness, which includes new agreements on maritime information sharing, an invitation to the UK to join India s Information Fusion Centre in Gurgaon and an ambitious exercise programme which includes joint trilateral exercises.
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Apart from the main Quad countries – Australia, India, Japan, and the United States – many European countries are demonstrating a keener interest in playing a greater role in the Indo-Pacific, with the United Kingdom being the latest. Earlier in the week, U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace announced that the British Carrier Strike Group (CSG) led by HMS Queen Elizabeth will undertake a “global deployment” that would include visits to 40 countries including India, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. The deployment is also intended to reinforce the U.K.’s new position in the Indo-Pacific region. The group will include, on the surface, two Type 45 destroyers, HMS Defender and HMS Diamond; two Type 23 anti-submarine frigates, HMS Kent and HMS Richmond; and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s RFA Fort Victoria and RFA Tidespring. Also joining the mission will be a Royal Navy Astute-class submarine, fitted with Tomahawk cruise missiles.
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Britain will also establish a maritime partnership with India to support mutual security objectives
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The HMS Queen Elizabeth Carrier will conduct a series of joint exercises with Indian military forces in the Indian Ocean.
Britain will also establish a maritime partnership with India to support mutual security objectives
As part of its Indo-Pacific focus, the U.K.’s aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth will sail to the Indian Ocean on its maiden operational deployment later this year and will also exercise with the Indian Navy.
“As a representation of the ‘Indo-Pacific tilt’ in the U.K.’s foreign policy, the HMS Queen Elizabeth Carrier, the largest ship ever built by the Royal Navy, will sail to India, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and the wider region,” the British High Commission said in a statement on Monday. “The UK’s Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 2021, led by HMS Queen Elizabeth, will sail to India in the autumn on its maiden operat
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The head of Carnegie’s new Indian Ocean initiative on how policymakers came around to the ‘Indo-Pacific idea’. A file photo of the Malabar Exercise in 2015. | AFP Photo / Handout / US Navy
The global rise of China, the closer connections forged by the Quad – India, US, Japan and Australia, and Washington, DC’s perceived move away from Middle-Eastern conflicts has made the “Indo-Pacific” one of the most mentioned geopolitical buzzwords of the last few years. The Indo, as opposed to Asia-Pacific, is a reference to the Indian Ocean and the term is meant to signify the importance of the maritime arena in global competition.
India to get apex body for maritime challenges
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The exact contours of the NMC, which will “integrate” all the users operating along the coast as well as on the high seas, are not yet in the public domain. But sources say it’s likely to be headed by a “national maritime security coordinator” to usher in synergy among different stakeholders.
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(This story originally appeared in on Apr 14, 2021)India will now finally have an apex federal body to handle all maritime affairs, from the coastline to the high seas, and ensure cohesive policy-making and effective coordination among the multiple authorities dealing with such issues in the country.