New Delhi, Oct 12: Adm Michael Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations, US Navy is on a five-day official visit to India. The visit of the US Navy Top Brass is scheduled from 11-15 Oct 21. During the visit, Admiral Gilday will interact with Adm Karambir Singh, Chief of the Naval Staff, in addition to other high-ranking GoI officials.
Admiral Gilday is scheduled to visit Indian Navys sword arm the – Western Naval Command (at Mumbai) and Eastern Naval Command (at Visakhapatnam) wherein he would interact with the respective Commander-in-Chiefs. Admiral Gilday is also scheduled to embark the USN Carrier Strike Group off the East Coast of India along with an Indian delegation, as reported.
India and the USA have traditionally maintained close and friendly diplomatic relations. The Defence relationship between the two nations has been one of mutual trust and confidence, which has transformed after the accord of major Defence Partner Status to India on June 16.
In addition, both countries have concluded certain foundational agreements, which includes the Defence Framework Agreement, signed in 2015, which lays a blueprint for collaboration between the defence establishments of both countries, the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) signed in 2016, which is a foundational agreement facilitating reciprocal logistics support between the Armed Forces of both countries, the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) signed on 06 Sep 18, which facilitates information-sharing between the Armed Forces of both nations and more recently, the Basic Exchange Cooperation Agreement (BECA), which enables sharing of geo – spatial information between Ministry of Defence and National Geospatial Agency (NGA), USA.
The Indian Navy also closely co-operates with the US Navy on numerous issues, which include operational interactions such as the MALABAR and RIMPAC series of exercises, training exchanges, exchange of White Shipping Information and Subject Matter Experts in various fields, all of which are coordinated through the medium of Executive Steering Group (ESG) meetings conducted annually. In addition, warships from both Navies regularly make port calls at each others ports. Both Navies have also been cooperating towards exploring new avenues for collaboration with a shared aim of a Free, Open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.
The author is a Delhi-based, DCC qualified, defence beat writer and independent contributor to print and online publications