With Prime Minister Narendra Modi returning on Sunday from his four-day trip to Washington and Cairo, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday supported growing India-US defence cooperation by stating that aligning with “extended neighbourhood” was important for a united response to deal with global threats and challenges, perhaps hinting at China.

Speaking a national security conclave in Jammu, Singh stated that India and US are being seen as natural allies and their strategic partnership is being further cemented. “India is a major regional power. Therefore, it is important for us to align our security concerns with other countries in our extended neighbourhood,” he said.

The Defence Minister termed Modi’s US visit as a “landmark event”, which he stated ushered the bilateral defence cooperation in a “new era”. It’s reflected, as per Singh, in the expansion of military-to-military engagements, information sharing and cooperation in the fields of Artificial Intelligence, cyber, space and mutual logistics support.

In his speech, Singh mentioned about the General Electric (GE) Aerospace-Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd deal to co-produce F-414 fighter jet engines for LCA MK-II in India. “With this deal, we will become the fourth country to manufacture jet engines. Tejas aircraft will be fitted with these Made in India engines,” he said.

Singh joined his Ministry in rejecting speculative reports on the price and other terms of purchase of 31 MQ-9B drones from the US-based General Atomics. The Ministry of Defence will compare the acquisition cost of the drones with the best price General Atomics (GA) offered to other countries, the Minister stated. He too insisted that the acquisition will be made only by following the established procurement procedure.

On the stand off with China, the Defence Minister termed the border situation with China as a “matter of perceptional difference”. There are agreements and protocols, based on which the armies of both the countries carry out the patrolling and the Chinese Army ignored them and unilaterally tried to change the status quo on the LAC in eastern Ladakh, he stated while referring to the stand-off in 2020, he said. He, however, lauded the valour and dedication of the Indian Army which prevented the attempts by PLA to change the status quo.

The Minister reiterated the Government’s stand to resolve the border issue through dialogue and in a peaceful manner. The talks are continuing at military and diplomatic levels to resolve the dispute and assured the nation that the government will never compromise on India’s border, its honour and self-respect.

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