India, in an attempt to decrease reliance on Russia and counter a more assertive China, agreed to a roadmap for military-industrial cooperation with the United States on Monday.

Concrete Action Needed

But analysts warned that such pledges needed to be backed up by concrete action.

Diversifying Supplies

Moscow and New Delhi have been allies for decades, with Russia by far India’s biggest arms supplier.

Now India – which has not condemned Russia for its invasion of Ukraine – is looking to diversify, both by broadening its sources of imports and ramping up domestic production.

Western countries, including the United States and France, are negotiating multi-billion-dollar contracts, and diplomats say India is placing a high priority on technology transfer as part of any deal.

Fast-Tracking Technology Cooperation

The agreement will fast-track technology cooperation and co-production in areas including air combat and land mobility systems, the “undersea domain,” and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, the U.S. Defense Department said.

The initiative “aims to change the paradigm for cooperation between U.S. and Indian defense sectors,” it said, and “could provide India access to cutting-edge technologies and support India’s defense modernization plans.”

Diplomatic Tightrope

India has displaced China as the world’s most populous country this year, and relations between the Asian giants have been strained since a deadly high-altitude border clash in June 2020.

At the same time, Washington and Beijing are engaged in fierce competition on diplomatic, military, technological and economic fronts.

But India is walking a diplomatic tightrope: uniquely, it is a member of both the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which includes Russia and China, and the Quad, set up with the United States, Japan, and Australia to counter Beijing’s growing assertiveness.

Concrete Results Needed

Analysts said they would wait to see whether the U.S.-India roadmap was anything more than rhetoric.

Expectations that Austin would talk about transferring engine technology to India and an armed Predator drone deal had gone unfulfilled, said Indian defense analyst Rahul Bedi.

“We’ve heard this many times before from respective defense secretaries, as well as the Indian side,” he told AFP.

“But unless something concrete emerges I remain skeptical. The right path (of India-U.S. relations) has to be backed with firm contracts and firm assurances.”

Pushback Against China

Austin, speaking to reporters after meeting his counterpart Rajnath Singh, said boosting partnerships with India came against a backdrop of “bullying and coercion” from China, as well as Russian “aggression against Ukraine.”

Strengthening Industrial Cooperation

India’s defense ministry said discussions had a “particular focus on identifying ways to strengthen industrial cooperation” with Washington, including the “co-development of new technologies and co-production of existing and new systems.”

Upcoming Visit by Prime Minister Modi

Austin’s visit comes ahead of a trip by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington this month.

Shared Vision for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific

Austin is on a tour of Asia that previously took him to Japan and Singapore, part of a push to help counter China and an increasingly bellicose North Korea.

The United States is “committed to collaborating closely with India in support of our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Austin said.

No NATO Equivalent

But he added that Washington was “absolutely not trying to establish a NATO” equivalent in the region.