New Delhi: With Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in London, the UK has decided to send its ‘Littoral Response Group’ to the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) later this year, to be followed by its carrier strike group in 2025. Both groups will train alongside the Indian armed forces.
The announcement comes a day after the defence minister held a bilateral meeting with his British counterpart Grant Shapps in London, Tuesday. Singh’s three-day visit to the UK marks the first by a sitting Indian defence minister in more than 20 years.
According to a statement issued by the British High Commission, “The two nations discussed future cooperation in defence from joint exercises to knowledge sharing and instructor exchanges.”
It added that the two sides hope to “build on the comprehensive strategic partnership envisaged in the 2030 India-UK roadmap, announced in 2021”.
The statement also said that the deployment of the UK’s “most advanced naval capabilities” in the Indian Ocean marks a decisive step in “bolstering UK-India security ties”.
According to the statement, both countries plan to “embark on more complex exercises between their respective militaries, building up to a landmark joint exercise to be conducted before the end of 2030, supporting shared goals of protecting critical trade routes and upholding the international rules-based system”.
“There is absolutely no question that the world is becoming increasingly contested, so it is vital that we continue to build on our strategic relationships with key partners like India. Together we share the same security challenges and are steadfast on our commitment to maintaining a free and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” it quoted Defence Secretary Grant Shapps saying.
Shapps added, “It is clear that this relationship is going from strength-to-strength, but we must continue to work hand-in-hand to uphold global security in light of threats and challenges that seek to destabilise and damage us.”
The statement added that the two countries are also working together on “electric propulsion systems” that will power their future fleets, besides cooperating on the development of “complex weapons”.
Among several new joint initiatives confirmed during Singh’s visit to the UK is the Defence Partnership-India – a “bespoke office designed to further defence collaboration between the two countries”.
Further, the statement said a commitment has been made to hold “instructor exchanges between the two nations’ Officer Training Colleges and specialist schools, alongside signing of a Youth Exchange MoU to solidify the already strong relationship between” cadet organisations of both countries.
During Singh’s ongoing visit, the two countries will also sign a “Letter of Arrangement” to enable further emphasis on research and development with a focus on “next-generation capabilities”.
The statement added that the two countries further “solidified” an agreement on logistics exchange, “allowing for the provision of logistic support, supplies and services between the United Kingdom and the Indian armed forces, for joint training, joint exercises, authorised port visits and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations”.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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