US Navy chief talks common interests

With India and the United States intensifying naval links to protect maritime freedom in the Indo-Pacific region, the US Navy chief visited India for four days, after Indian Navy ships concluded exercises with the US and its allies in the South China Sea.

During his visit from May 12 to 14, Admiral John Richardson met with Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba and other senior Navy, military, and national security officials, the US Navy announced.

India and the US share the vital interest of keeping the Indo-Pacific region open for trade and for security of the sea lanes while China is flexing its military muscles on the oceans.

“The strategic environment is becoming more complex and the nature of our shared challenges requires frequent discussion of our views of the maritime domain and how best our two navies can operate in line with our respective objectives”, Richardson said in the United States Navy statement.

“The visit aims to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two navies by emphasising the importance of information sharing and exchange”, the pre-visit statement added. Recent weeks have seen a flurry of naval activity and other nations that share its interests in the region.(Arul Louis)