Defence coop with India vital for US |
The Trump administration has told US Congress that defence cooperation with India would be an important pillar in the bilateral relationship as it needs the country to be a net security provider in the Indo-Pacific region. The Trump regime has informed the Congress that it "strongly supports" transfers of F-18 and F-16 fighter proposals put forth by Boeing and Lockheed Martin respectively. These proposals have the potential to take Indo-US defence ties to the next level. The reason why defence cooperation with India is so vital to US interests because US needs India to be a net security provider in the Indo-Pacific, a region that serves as the fulcrum of global trade and commerce, with nearly half of the world`s 90,000 commercial vessels - many sailing under the US flag, and two-thirds of traded oil travelling through the region. Alice Wells, acting assistant secretary of state for the South and Central Asian Affairs told a Congressional subcommittee in a written submission. Wells is scheduled to testify before the House foreign affairs subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific on "Maintaining US Influence in South Asia: The FY 2018 Budget." She said that the Indo-Asia Pacific region is also home to nearly half of the planet`s population and some of the fastest growing economies on earth.
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