India US air forces to deepen ties in Indo Pacific

India US air forces to deepen ties in Indo Pacific

Context

Chief of U.S. Air Force General David L. Goldfein has said Indian and U.S. air forces will significantly ramp up operational cooperation to complement the strategic interests of the two countries in the Indo-Pacific region where China has been expanding its military influence

Future policy

• Calling India a “central strategic partner” of the U.S. in pursuing common interests in the region, the two of the world’s largest air forces are now going to jointly shift the focus on the Indo-Pacific region
• “Quadrilateral” coalition among the U.S., India, Japan and Australia would provide for deeper cooperation between the Indian and American air forces
• Focus of the cooperation will be to “make decision faster than our adversaries and then act in ways that may bring multiple problems at a pace the adversary could never keep up with

Backdrop

In June 2016, the U.S. had designated India a “Major Defence Partner” intending to elevate defence trade and technology sharing with India to a level commensurate with that of its closest allies and partners