NEW DELHI: US defence secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in India on Friday in a crucial visit that is expected to set the tone for New Delhi-Washington relationship under the Joe Biden administration.
The two-day visit is aimed at further strengthening bilateral defence and security ties in the wake of China's growing military assertiveness, especially in the Indo-Pacific.
It will also be the first visit by a high-ranking US government official since Biden assumed office.
What's on agendaWays to further accelerate India-US strategic ties, boosting cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, China's aggressive behaviour in eastern Ladakh, challenge of terrorism and the Afghan peace process are expected to be focus of the talks between the two sides, reported PTI quoting people familiar with Austin's visit.
They said India's plan to procure around 30 multi-mission armed Predator drones from the US for the three services at an estimated cost of over $3 billion is also expected to figure in the talks.
The medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) Predator-B drones, manufactured by US defence major General Atomics, are capable of remaining airborne for around 35 hours and can hunt down targets at land and sea, they said.
India's plan to acquire 114 fighter jets at a cost of around $18 billion could also figure in the talks as American defence majors — Boeing and Lockheed-Martin — are eyeing it, the people said.
Austin is also scheduled to meet National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Friday evening while he will have extensive talks with defence minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday.
He is also likely to meet external affairs minister S Jaishankar.
Before his departure on Sunday, Austin is likely to call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
One thorny issue expected to come up is India's planned purchase of Russian S-400 air defence systems which under US law can attract sanctions. Washington has imposed sanctions on Turkey for buying that equipment.
Senator Robert Menendez, Chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had written to the US defence secretary, urging him to take up with Indian leaders the issue of New Delhi procuring Russian S-400 missile defence system.
Though democracy and human rights issues do not come under the domain of the Pentagon, Menendez also urged Austin to raise these concerns with Indian leaders.
China concernsIndia is a key US ally in the region and the visit comes close on the heels of frosty first talks between US secretary of state Antony Blinken with top Chinese officials in Alaska.
Shared misgivings about China have pushed US and India closer under Modi and President Joe Biden's predecessor Donald Trump.
The high-profile visit also comes just days after the first-ever Quad summit which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders of US, Australia and Japan, where all four leaders sent a firm message to Beijing without directly naming it.
The evolving situation in the Indo-Pacific region in the wake of China's increasing military muscle flexing has also become a major talking point among leading global powers.
The US has been favouring making Quad a security architecture to check China's growing assertiveness.
India and China are currently overseeing military disengagement at the LAC after a months-long standoff in eastern Ladakh.
Last year, both the countries were involved in a violent clash in Galwan Valley, which led to the killing of 20 Indian soldiers and an undisclosed number of Chinese troops.
Moreover, Beijing has irked New Delhi with its support for Pakistan and investments in Indian Ocean nations such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Nepal.
India and China have also engaged in a tussle of "vaccine diplomacy", competing to supply other countries with coronavirus shots to secure goodwill and influence.
(With inputs from PTI, AFP)