TRUMP IN INDIA: DAY 2
Quadrilateral Initiative to be revitalised
QUADRILATERAL INITIATIVE TO BE REVITALISED
INDIAN CEOS LAUD RELAXED RULES IN THE US
NO TRADE DEAL, BUT TWO NATIONS SIGN 3 Mous
Without any deadlock-breaking agreements on trade, or the sale of nuclear power reactors, much of the feel-good around the two-day visit of US President Donald Trump centred on the burgeoning Us-india strategic and defence partnership.
“Today, President Trump and I have taken a decision to raise our partnership to the level of a comprehensive global strategic partnership,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the media after bilateral talks in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Modi and Trump agreed to galvanise the Quadrilateral Initiative (Quad), which could become an important element in the Indo-pacific strategic architecture, bringing together democracies that are wary of a rising China.
“Together, the prime minister and I are revitalising the Quad with the US, India, Australia, and Japan. Since I took office, we have held the first Quad ministerial meeting and expanded cooperation on counter-terrorism, cybersecurity, and maritime security to ensure a free and open Indo-pacific,” stated Trump.
Over the preceding 15 years, New Delhi has avoided alienating China by walking a delicate line on initiatives like the Quad, and on exercises and operations with US military forces in the Indo-pacific.
Modi abandoned some of that restraint on Tuesday, declaring: “In the last few years, there has been an unprecedented increase in interoperability between our armies.”
Trump confirmed that India’s military signed contracts with Boeing and Lockheed Martin on Tuesday for the purchase of military helicopters. “Earlier today, we expanded our defence cooperation with agreements for India to purchase more than $3 billion of advanced American military equipment, including Apache and MH-60 Romeo helicopters — the finest in the world. These deals will enhance our joint defence capabilities as our militaries continue to train and operate side by side,” said Trump.
Importantly for Trump, who is critical of India’s $24 billion trade surplus with the US, these contracts will take the total value of US defence equipment bought by India to over $20-21 billion.
The Indian Army will get the Apache attack helicopter in its AH64E configuration, with deliveries starting in 2023, according to the manufacturer, Boeing.
This is the latest version that entered service with the US Army in 2011. Boeing says it has 26 new advanced technologies, including more powerful engines, composite rotor blades, and the capability to control unmanned aerial vehicles.
More than 2,400 Apaches are in service worldwide, with over 400 of them being the latest AH-64E model. The Indian Air Force has already bought 22 Apache AH-64ES, which will all arrive by May.
The Hyderabad-based firm Tata Boeing Aerospace already manufactures helicopter fuselages for multiple Apache operators around the world.
Modi underlined the growing manufacture in India of advanced defence and aerospace components and systems for global vendors. “Cooperation in ultra-modern defence equipment and platforms will enhance India’s defence capabilities. Our defence manufacturers are becoming a part of each other’s supply chains,” he said.
Despite India’s growing purchase of US weaponry and the incorporation of Indian manufacturers into global supply chains, there is a worrying lack of movement in furthering the technology relationship that India wants — which involves co-design and co-development of equipment, so that Indian firms can absorb the “know how” and “know why” needed to build truly indigenous weaponry.
The Trump-modi meeting was markedly silent on the flagship
Defence Technology and Trade Initiative project: US assistance in designing India’s second indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vishal. There are concerns on the US side that India’s static defence budget has little money to support such projects.
Nor was there any update on the long-running negotiation of a pending Us-india foundational agreement — the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geospatial Cooperation — which had been earlier stated to be nearing completion.
Two other foundational pacts — Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement and the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement — have been concluded, enabling the two militaries to work together.