India, US sign 10-year defence framework

AS THEY CONTINUE to negotiate a bilateral trade deal and the thorny issue of a tariff penalty by Washington over Delhi's purchase of Russian oil, India and the US Friday signed a 10-year Framework for the US-India Major Defence Partnership, signalling stable ties between the two countries in the defence sector.

- AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA

The pact was signed following a bilateral meeting between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his US counterpart Pete Hegseth on the sidelines of 12th Asean Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

In a statement, the ministry of defence said the 2025 framework is intended to provide a unified vision and policy direction to deepen defence cooperation. It said the framework will usher in a new era in the already strong defence partnership between the two countries and marks a new chapter in further transforming it over the next 10 years.

Singh said the framework will provide policy direction to the entire spectrum of the India-US defence relationship. “It is a signal of our growing strategic convergence and will herald a new decade of partnership,” he said in a post on X, adding that defence will remain a major pillar in bilateral relations between the two sides.

The partnership, he said, is critical for ensuring a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific region — a reference to efforts aimed at countering China’s assertive behaviour in the region.