Will take forward ties with US on ‘mutual respect and shared interests’: India

NEW new delhi: bharat is committed to taking send on dealings with the US on the base of mutual respect and shared interests, the external affairs ministry said on Thursday against the backdrop of strains in bilateral ties over trade-related issues and President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.The India-US defence partnership remains an important pillar of bilateral relations, with several engagements and an important military exercise scheduled for August, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, seeking to dispel reports that the trade-related row had impacted defence and strategic ties.“We remain focused on the substantive agenda that our two countries have committed to and we hope that the relationship will continue to move forward based on mutual respect and shared interests,” Jaiswal told a weekly media briefing while responding to questions on the future of India-US relations amid the uncertainty caused by the Trump administration’s tariff policies.“India and the United States share a comprehensive global strategic partnership anchored in shared interests, democratic values and robust people-to-people ties. This partnership has weathered several transitions and challenges,” Jaiswal said.After more than two decades of convergence on a range of strategic and economic issues, India-US relations have run into rough weather because of US President Donald Trump’s moves to force New Delhi to agree to a trade deal that will lead to enhanced access to Indian markets and greater purchases of American products. Besides imposing a reciprocal tariff of 25% on India, Trump has slapped a 25% penalty on Indian goods over the continuing purchases of Russian oil.Jaiswal’s remarks were in line with New Delhi’s approach on focusing on the long-term relationship and areas of convergence, such as collaboration on defence and security that has been assiduously built up in the past two decades.The India-US defence partnership, “underpinned by foundational defence agreements, is an important pillar of the bilateral partnership”, Jaiswal said. “This robust cooperation has strengthened across several domains,” he added.Pointing to the continuing engagements with the US in the defence sphere, Jaiswal said a US defence policy team is expected to visit New Delhi in mid-August, while the 21st edition of the joint military exercise Yudh Abhyas is scheduled to be conducted in Alaska later this month.Both sides are also engaged in convening an inter-sessional meeting of senior officials under the 2+2 format – which involves the foreign and defence ministries of India and US – towards the end of August, he said.“As far as the question of defence acquisition is concerned, the procurement processes continue as per established procedures,” Jaiswal said, brushing aside reports that India has paused purchases of military hardware from the US.Though Russia continues to account for nearly 60% of the inventory of India’s armed forces, the US has become a key supplier of sophisticated weapon systems over the past two decades. Since 2008, India has contracted for US defence equipment worth at least $24 billion, including transport and maritime surveillance aircraft, attack helicopters, anti-ship missiles and howitzers.The US designated India as a “major defence partner” in 2016, giving the country licence-free access to a range of military and dual-use technologies. The US has also concluded three so-called foundational agreements with India – the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), Communications, Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) and the Industrial Security Agreement (ISA).Jaiswal responded to a separate question on criticism of India in the US state department’s annual human rights report by saying that such reports are a “mix of imputations, misrepresentations and one-sided projections that demonstrate a poor understanding of India’s democratic framework, pluralistic society and robust institutional mechanisms for protecting human rights”.He added, “We do not attach any credence to such biased assessments. We remain focused on advancing human rights for our people through inclusive governance and development.”