U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

“The Biden Administration in the last four years has expanded America’s relationship with India,” U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said.

“We strengthened NATO. We’ve pulled NATO together. We’ve kept 50 countries focused on providing security assistance to Ukraine. The things that we’ve done in the Indo-Pacific. Quite amazing,” Mr. Austin told reporters in Florida.

“We walked in the door and were about to get kicked out of the Philippines. We are 180 degrees out from that now. We have a great relationship with the Philippines, and we continue to work together in the ways that we should be working together. You look at AUKUS, which is a generational capability that is really going to make a significant difference going forward,” he said.

Mr. Austin said that America’s relationship with India has improved under the Biden administration.

“We walked in the door and Japan has doubled its investment in defence and the list goes on and on and on. So, despite supporting and managing security assistance to Ukraine, and also supporting Israel’s efforts to defend its sovereign territory, we’ve been able to maintain a focus on the Indo-Pacific as well,” Mr. Austin said.

“We described it as our “pacing challenge” early on, and that remained our pacing challenge. So, we were able to manage challenges and resources – and I think that put us in a pretty good place. It sets up the country for success going forward, as long as we follow on the work,” said the Defence Secretary in his first remarks after the defeat of the ruling Democratic party in the November 5 presidential elections.

Responding to a question, Mr. Austin said the most important thing on voter’s minds was the economy, and that’s what people voted on.

“I did not say that this was not important. Of course, it’s important. I’m saying that what you’ve described as the most important thing to the people of America was the economy. So, I can’t disagree with that, I think that’s the way, people may have voted,” Mr. Austin said.

“But I can also say that things in Europe and the Middle East were very important as well. I think we’ve done a magnificent job there in terms of managing things and not allowing things to blossom into a full-blown regional war,” he said.

(L-R) U.S. Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov attend a Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting on September 6, 2024 at the U.S. air base in Ramstein, southwestern Germany.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met Friday with top United States military leaders and more than 50 partner nations in Germany to press for more weapons support Friday as Washington announced it would provide another $250 million in security assistance to Kyiv.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the meeting of the leaders was taking place during a dynamic moment in Ukraine’s fight against Russia, as it conducts its first offensive operations of the war while facing a significant threat from Russian forces near a key hub in the Donbas.

So far the surprise assault inside Russia’s Kursk territory has not drawn away President Vladimir Putin’s focus from taking the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, which provides critical rail and supply links for the Ukrainian army. Losing Pokrovsk could put additional Ukrainian cities at risk.

While Kursk has put Russia on the defensive, “we know Putin’s malice runs deep,” Mr. Austin cautioned in prepared remarks to the media before the Ukraine Defense Contact Group met. Moscow is pressing on, especially around Pokrovsk, Mr. Austin said.

Recent deadly airstrikes by Russia have renewed Mr. Zelensky’s calls for the U.S. to further loosen restrictions and obtain even greater Western capabilities to strike deeper inside Russia. However, the meeting Friday was expected to focus on resourcing more air defense and artillery supplies and shoring up gains on expanding Ukraine’s own defense industrial base, to put it on more solid footing as the final days of Joe Biden’s U.S. presidency wind down.

Mr. Zelensky said he would continue to press for the long-range strike capability. “Strong long-range decisions by partners are needed to bring the just peace we seek closer,” Mr. Zelensky said Friday on Telegram.

Western partner nations were working with Ukraine to source a substitute missile for its Soviet-era S-300 air defense systems, Mr. Austin said.

The U.S. is also focused on resourcing a variety of air-to-ground missiles that the newly delivered F-16 fighter jets can carry, including the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, which could give Ukraine a longer-range cruise missile option, said Bill LaPlante, the Pentagon’s top weapons buyer, who spoke to reporters traveling with Mr. Austin.

No decisions on the munition have been made, LaPlante said, noting that policymakers would still have to decide whether to give Ukraine the longer-range capability.

“I would just put JASSM in that category, it’s something that is always being looked at,” LaPlante said. “Anything that’s an air-to-ground weapon is always being looked at.”

For the past two years, members of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group have met to resource Ukraine’s mammoth artillery and air defense needs, ranging from hundreds of millions of rounds of small arms ammunition to some of the West’s most sophisticated air defense systems, and now fighter jets. The ask this month was more of the same — but different in that it was in person, and followed a similar in-person visit Thursday in Kyiv by Biden’s Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer as Mr. Zelensky shores up U.S. support before the administration changes.

Since 2022, the member nations together have provided about $106 billion in security assistance to Ukraine. The U.S. has provided more than $56 billion of that total.

The German government said Chancellor Olaf Scholz plans to meet Mr. Zelensky in Frankfurt on Friday afternoon.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin will join their Japanese counterparts Yoko Kamikawa and Minoru Kihara, at the Japan-U.S. Security Consultative Committee, known as “2+2” security talks. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Japanese and U.S. defence chiefs and top diplomats will meet in Tokyo on July 28 for talks aimed at further bolstering their military cooperation, including by upgrading the command and control of U.S. forces and strengthening American-licensed missile production in Japan, amid a rising threat from China.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin will join their Japanese counterparts, Yoko Kamikawa and Minoru Kihara, at the Japan-U.S. Security Consultative Committee, known as “2+2” security talks, to reaffirm their alliance following President Joe Biden ‘s withdrawal from the November Presidential race.

For the first time, the Ministers will hold separate talks to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to “extended deterrence,” which includes atomic weapons — a shift from Japan’s earlier reluctance to openly discuss the sensitive issue in the world’s only country to have suffered nuclear attacks — amid growing nuclear threats from Russia and China.

The Ministers are expected to discuss plans to upgrade command and control structures for U.S. forces in Japan by bringing in higher-ranked officers with commanding authority to create a U.S. counterpart for Japan’s unified command currently set for inauguration in March.

Japan is home to more than 50,000 U.S. troops, but a commander for the U.S. Forces Japan headquartered in Yokota in the western suburbs of Tokyo, tasked with managing their bases, has no commanding authority. Instead that comes from the Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii. “The plan to upgrade USFJ’s command and control capability is designed to help smooth joint exercises and operations,” officials say.

Ahead of the 2+2 talks, Mr. Kihara met with Austin and South Korean Defence Minister Shin Won-sik for their first trilateral defence talks hosted by Tokyo and signed a memorandum based on their June agreement in Singapore that institutionalises their regular high-level talks, joint exercises and other exchanges.

Defence officials said the memorandum serves as the basis for future defence cooperation among the three countries despite possible changes of leadership, while showcasing their unity.

“The signing of this memorandum makes our trilateral cooperation unwavering even under changing global environments,” Mr. Kihara told reporters.

Mr Kihara also met Shin, who is the first South Korean defence chief to visit Japan in 15 years, and they agreed to take concrete steps to deepen their bilateral defence ties.

Japan has been accelerating its military buildup and has increased joint operations with the U.S., as well as with South Korea, while trying to strengthen its largely domestic defence industry.

Japan has significantly eased its arms export restrictions and in December accommodated a U.S. request for shipment of surface-to-air PAC-3 missile interceptors produced in Japan under an American license to replenish U.S. inventories, which have decreased due to its support for Ukraine.

The Ministers are also expected to discuss increased Japanese production of PAC-3 interceptors for export to the United States.

Japan and the U.S. have been accelerating arms industry cooperation following an April agreement between Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Joe Biden. The two sides have set up working groups for missile co-production and for the maintenance and repair of U.S. Navy ships and Air Force aircraft in the region.

While Japan’s role is largely designed to help U.S. weapons supply and keep its deterrence credible in the Indo-Pacific amid continuing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, Japanese officials say it will help strengthen the Japanese defence industry.

The U.S. is trying to build an Asia-Pacific version of NATO through its Indo-Pacific strategy to maintain its hegemony in the region, a Chinese defence official has said, stressing that Washington’s attempt to serve its “selfish” geopolitical interest is “doomed to fail”.

The remarks by Lieutenant General Jing Jianfeng, deputy chief of staff of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission, came in response to U.S. Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin’s speech during the Shangri La Dialogue on Saturday in which he spoke about strengthening alliances and partnerships across the region.

Held annually in Singapore, the Shangri La Dialogue is Asia’s premier defence summit.   Lieutenant-General Jing warned that if regional countries were to sign up for the U.S.’ Indo-Pacific strategy, they would be bound to the “U.S. war chariot” and be lured into “taking bullets for the U.S”.

He termed Mr. Austin’s remarks as “rhetoric” that “sounds good but does no good, one that serves “selfish U.S. geopolitical interests” and which is “doomed to fail”.

“The real purpose is to merge the small circle into the large circle of the Asia-Pacific version of NATO so as to maintain the hegemony led by the U.S.,” Mr. Jing, a member of the Chinese delegation, said on Saturday.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance of 32 member states — 30 European and 2 North American.

The Indo-Pacific strategy is creating division and confrontation, he said.

The Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region, comprising the Indian Ocean and the western and central Pacific Ocean, including the South China Sea.

The U.S.’ Indo-Pacific strategy is the country’s vision for a free, open, connected, prosperous, resilient, and secure Indo-Pacific region in which all countries are empowered to adapt to the 21st century’s challenges and seize its many opportunities.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam claim parts of it.

The U.S. and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China’s rising military assertiveness in the resource-rich region.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin looks on during the Shangri-La Dialogue summit at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, on June 1, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told a gathering of top security officials on June 1 that war with China was neither imminent nor unavoidable, despite rapidly escalating tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, stressing the importance of renewed dialogue between him and his Chinese counterpart in avoiding “miscalculations and misunderstandings.”

Mr. Austin’s comments at the Shangri-La defense forum in Singapore came the day after he met for more than an hour on the sidelines with Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun, the first in-person meeting between the top defense officials since contacts between the American and Chinese militaries broke down in 2022 after then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, infuriating Beijing.

Also read | Stabilising frayed ties, yet hurdles ahead

Neither side budged from their longstanding positions on Taiwan — which China claims as its own and has not ruled out using force to take — and on China’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea, which has led to direct confrontations between China and other nations in the region, most notably the Philippines.

While declining to detail the specifics of their conversation, Mr. Austin said the most important thing was that the two were again talking.

“As long as we’re talking, we’re able to identify those issues that are troublesome and that we want to make sure that we have placed guardrails to ensure there are no misperceptions and no miscalculations … that can spiral out of control,” he said.

“You can only do that kind of thing if you are talking.”

Addressing the same forum on Friday night, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. bluntly outlined what could be at stake, saying that if a Filipino were killed as China confronts his country’s coast guard and merchant fleet to press its claims in the South China Sea, it would be “very, very close to what we define as an act of war and therefore we will respond accordingly.”

Mr. Marcos added that he assumed the Philippines’ treaty partners, which include the U.S., “hold the same standard.”

In his own speech, Mr. Austin lauded how Mr. Marcos “spoke so powerfully last night about how the Philippines is standing up for its sovereign rights under international law.” But when pressed later, he would not say how the U.S. might react if a Filipino were killed in a confrontation with China, calling it hypothetical.

He did say the U.S. commitment to the Philippines as a treaty partner is “ironclad,” while again stressing the importance of dialogue with China.

“There are a number of things that can happen at sea or in the air, we recognize that,” he said. “But our goal is to make sure that we don’t allow things to spiral out of control unnecessarily.”

Beijing in recent years has been rapidly expanding its navy and is becoming growingly assertive in pressing its claim to virtually the entire South China Sea.

The U.S., meantime, has been ramping up military exercises in the region with its allies to underscore its “free and open Indo-Pacific” concept, meant to emphasize freedom of navigation through the contested waters, including the Taiwan Strait.

Expressing the concerns of some in the region, Indonesian academic Dewi Fortuna Anwar said any de-escalation of tensions “would be very welcome to this part of the world,” but wondered whether the U.S. would allow China’s assertive military posture to grow uncontested if Washington’s main emphasis was now dialogue.

“We are also worried if you guys get too cozy, we also get trampled,” she said.

Mr. Austin said that many of those issues were best addressed through talks, but also assured that Washington will continue to ensure that the rights of nations in the region were protected and that they continued to have access to their exclusive economic zones.

“War or a fight with China is neither imminent, in my view, or unavoidable,” Austin said.

“Leaders of great power nations need to continue to work together to ensure that we’re doing things to reduce the opportunities for miscalculation and misunderstandings,” he said. “Every conversation is not going to be a happy conversation, but it is important that we continue to talk to each other. And it is important that we continue to support our allies and partners on their interests as well.”

File picture of Nigeriens gathering in a street to protest against the U.S. military presence, in Niamey, Niger April 13, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Russian military personnel have entered an air base in Niger that is hosting U.S. troops, a senior U.S. defense told Reuters, a move that follows a decision by Niger’s junta to expel U.S. forces.

The military officers ruling the West African nation have told the U.S. to withdraw its nearly 1,000 military personnel from the country, which until a coup last year had been a key partner for Washington’s fight against insurgents who have killed thousands of people and displaced millions more.

A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russian forces were not mingling with U.S. troops but were using a separate hangar at Airbase 101, which is next to Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, Niger’s capital.

The move by Russia’s military, which Reuters was the first to report, puts U.S. and Russian troops in close proximity at a time when the nations’ military and diplomatic rivalry is increasingly acrimonious over the conflict in Ukraine.

It also raises questions about the fate of U.S. installations in the country following a withdrawal.

“[The situation] is not great but in the short-term manageable,” the official said.

Asked about the Reuters report, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin played down any risk to American troops or the chance that Russian troops might get close to U.S. military hardware.

“The Russians are in a separate compound and don’t have access to U.S. forces or access to our equipment,” Mr. Austin told a press conference in Honolulu.

“I’m always focused on the safety and protection of our troops … But right now, I don’t see a significant issue here in terms of our force protection.”

Also Watch: What led to the military coup in Niger and how has the world reacted?

The Nigerien and Russian embassies in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The U.S. and its allies have been forced to move troops out of a number of African countries following coups that brought to power groups eager to distance themselves from Western governments. In addition to the impending departure from Niger, U.S. troops have also left Chad in recent days, while French forces have been kicked out of Mali and Burkina Faso.

At the same time, Russia is seeking to strengthen relations with African nations, pitching Moscow as a friendly country with no colonial baggage in the continent.

Mali, for example, has in recent years become one of Russia’s closest African allies, with the Wagner Group mercenary force deploying there to fight jihadist insurgents.

Russia has described relations with the United States as “below zero” because of U.S. military and financial aid for Ukraine in its effort to defend against invading Russian forces.

The U.S. official said Nigerien authorities had told President Joe Biden’s administration that about 60 Russian military personnel would be in Niger, but the official could not verify that number.

After the coup, the U.S. military moved some of its forces in Niger from Airbase 101 to Airbase 201 in the city of Agadez. It was not immediately clear what U.S. military equipment remained at Airbase 101.

The United States built Airbase 201 in central Niger at a cost of more than $100 million. Since 2018 it has been used to target Islamic State and al Qaeda affiliate Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM) fighters with armed drones.

Washington is concerned about Islamic militants in the Sahel region, who may be able to expand without the presence of U.S. forces and intelligence capabilities.

Niger’s move to ask for the removal of U.S. troops came after a meeting in Niamey in mid-March, when senior U.S. officials raised concerns including the expected arrival of Russia forces and reports of Iran seeking raw materials in the country, including uranium.

While the U.S. message to Nigerien officials was not an ultimatum, the official said, it was made clear U.S. forces could not be on a base with Russian forces.

“They did not take that well,” the official said.

A two-star U.S. general has been sent to Niger to try and arrange a professional and responsible withdrawal.

While no decisions have been taken on the future of U.S. troops in Niger, the official said the plan was for them to return to U.S. Africa Command’s home bases, located in Germany.

Washington:

The India-US deal to jointly produce fighter jet engines for the Indian Air Force is revolutionary, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers on Wednesday.

The landmark deal was announced last June during the historic Official State Visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US. The General Electric signed a memorandum of understanding with Hindustan Aeronautics to make fighter jet engines for the IAF.

Austin told the House Appropriations Subcommittee that the United States has a “great relationship” with India.

“We recently have enabled India to produce a jet weapon, a jet engine in India. And that’s kind of revolutionary. That will provide a great capability to them. We are also co-producing an armoured vehicle with India,” he said.

“So, all of these things, when you add them up, are probably more than we have seen happen in that region in a very, very long time,” Austin said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

The India-US deal to jointly produce fighter jet engines for the Indian Air Force is revolutionary, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers on Wednesday.

The landmark deal was announced last June during the historic Official State Visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US. The General Electric signed a memorandum of understanding with Hindustan Aeronautics to make fighter jet engines for the IAF.

Austin told the House Appropriations Subcommittee that the United States has a “great relationship” with India.

“We recently have enabled India to produce a jet weapon, a jet engine in India. And that’s kind of revolutionary. That will provide a great capability to them. We are also co-producing an armoured vehicle with India,” he said.

“So, all of these things, when you add them up, are probably more than we have seen happen in that region in a very, very long time,” Austin said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant Tuesday that civilian casualties in Gaza are “too high,” and said the two would talk about alternatives to a major Israeli operation in the territory’s south.

A separate Israeli delegation was supposed to visit Washington to discuss US concerns over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to launch an assault on the southern city of Rafah, where much of Gaza’s population has sought refuge.

But Israel scrapped that visit after the United States abstained in a Monday vote on a UN Security Council resolution that called for a Gaza ceasefire, allowing it to pass.

“In Gaza today, the number of civilian casualties is far too high, and the amount of humanitarian aid is far too low,” Mr Austin said at the beginning of the meeting, adding that it would include discussion of alternatives for targeting Hamas in Rafah.

Gallant meanwhile said they would talk about “developments in Gaza and the means to achieve our goals: the destruction of Hamas organization and bringing back the Israeli hostages.”

Roughly 130 people are still believed to be held in Gaza after they were seized in the shock Hamas attack on October 7 that resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli figures.

Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 32,414 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

The United States has backed Israel with both military and diplomatic support, but has voiced frustration with Netanyahu as the civilian death count in the Gaza Strip mounts and the humanitarian situation worsens.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Ranchi, Bihar:

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a telephonic conversation with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday.

The two leaders, as they engaged in a conversation, discussed a range of bilateral, regional security and defence cooperation issues.

“They reviewed the recent bilateral events such as the INDUS-X Summit held in New Delhi in February 2024, and the bilateral Tri-Service exercise ‘Tiger Triumph’ which has also commenced in India on March 18, 2024,” the Defence Ministry release read.

Meanwhile, Lloyd Austin appreciated the important role being played by the Indian Navy in conducting anti-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean Region.

“The two Ministers discussed ways and means to implement the India-US Defence Cooperation Roadmap which was concluded last year. Other defence industrial cooperation issues such as repair of US naval ships in Indian shipyards were also briefly discussed,” according to the Ministry of Defence.

It was during the India-US Ministerial 2+2 Dialogue in November 2023, that Rajnath Singh and Lloyd Austin had last met in New Delhi.

India and the United States are all set for ‘Tiger Triumph 2024’ as the bilateral, tri-service exercise between the two nations commenced on Monday and will take place until March 31.

“In consonance with the established partnership between India and the US, a bilateral tri-service humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) exercise between both countries, Tiger Triumph-24, is scheduled on the Eastern Seaboard from March 18-31,” the Ministry of Defence said in an official press release.

Notably, the exercise is aimed at developing interoperability for conducting HADR operations and refining Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to enable rapid and smooth coordination between forces of both countries.

The US would be represented by US Navy ships with embarked troops of the US Marine Corps and US Army.

The harbour phase is scheduled for March 18-25.

Moreover, personnel from both navies would participate in training visits, subject matter expert exchanges, sports Events and social interactions.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)