Page 5 - The Indian EYE 090624

BIG STORY SEPTEMBER 06, 2024 | The Indian Eye 5

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh meets US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin Defense Minister Rajnath Singh with Indian Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Chief of De-
in Washington DC on last Friday (ANI) fense Staff General Anil Chauhan and others during the commissioning of ‘INS Arighaat’ (ANI)

operational coordination through In- Rajnath Singh and Lloyd Austin ex- “Our leaders share an excellent fense sector in India.
dian liaison officers at U.S. commands. pressed happiness on the conclusion rapport and are working together on The event saw the attendance of
They agreed to advance priority of the Security of Supplies Arrange- several global issues apart from vast senior leadership from prominent US
co-production projects, including jet ment (SOSA), which encourages the and growing bilateral relations. We defense and technology companies
engines, unmanned platforms, muni- defense industrial ecosystems of both have had regular high-level interac- such as Boeing, GE, General Atomics,
tions, and ground mobility systems, countries to work together, and en- tions and that includes PM Modi’s General Dynamics Land Systems, L3
under the US-India Roadmap for De- hances the supply chain resilience. state visit to the US in June where he Harris, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon
fense Industrial Cooperation. They held wide-ranging discus- also addressed the joint sitting of US Technologies, Rolls Royce, and Thay-
They further held advanced dis- sions on bilateral defense cooperation, Congress. President Biden visited In- erMahan. In addition, a few Indian
cussions to expand cooperation in the industrial collaboration, regional secu- dia in September 2023 to attend the companies, such as ideaForge, Tata
undersea and space domains and wel- rity and other international issues. In G20 leaders’ summit. PM Modi met Sons and Tsecond, along with senior
comed ongoing implementation of the his opening remarks, Rajnath Singh President Biden on the sidelines of a leaders from The Cohen Group at-
India-US Defense Acceleration Eco- said that India and the US enjoy a G7 meeting in Italy,” he said. tended the interaction with the de-
system (INDUS-X), which will con- comprehensive global strategic part- Rajnath Singh also interacted with fense minister.
vene its third summit in Silicon Valley nership covering almost all areas of the senior leadership of US defense As India and China remain locked
this September. human endeavor. companies in an industry round-table in a border conflict in Ladakh, with no
The Indian minister’s visit was He said the bilateral relationship organized by the US-India Strategic end in sight, the defense cooperation
part of growing defense coopera- has seen a growing convergence of stra- Partnership Forum and outlined the between India and US is likely to grow
tion between India and the US, with tegic interests and enhanced defense, various emerging co-development and more as India adds more firepower to
an eye on China. At their meeting, security and industrial cooperation. co-production opportunities in the de- its naval fleet.

US urges China to start negotiations with Dalai Lama without preconditions

OUR BUREAU in direct negotiations with the Dalai Lama or his
representatives without preconditions.
Dharamshala (HP)
“It’s been 13 years since they have been these
nited States Embassy in New Delhi district negotiations and we encourage China to
spokesperson Christopher Elms visited engage in negotiations directly with the Dalai
Uthe exiled Tibetan community and urged Lama or his representatives without precondi-
China to start dialogue with Tibetan spiritual tions,” US embassy spokesperson told ANI.
leader the Dalai Lama or his representatives Christopher further said, “The Resolve Act
without preconditions. describes the US’ position and it’s something that
During this visit, Elms visited the Tibet Mu- we are continuing to carry out our mission here in
seum, Buddhist monasteries and offices of the the US Embassy in New Delhi,” adding that “We
Central Tibetan Administration and also met do that around the world as well.”
representatives of Indian and Tibetan media. “This has been something that a long-stand-
Speaking to media, Elms said, “The Resolve Act United States and the President reiterated that the ing and we are continuing to do that and part of
as you know was passed by the Congress in June United States government still see the Tibet auton- my visit is to understand how best US can support
this year and signed into Law by US President omous region and other Tibetan areas of China as the Tibetan people. We continue to call for direct
Joe Biden in July. I can’t speak on behalf of Con- a part of China, that does not change anything from talks and we are open to create solutions. Our
gress, but on behalf of the administration and on our policy, that’s something that President Biden government talks with the Central Tibetan Ad-
behalf of President Biden, he signed the Act into does control how we determine what internation- ministration and we would really like to see these
law because we agree with the sentiment of the al borders are. However, I think the next steps are talks directly without any preconditions as soon
law that is there to protect the human rights of what we have been urging for a long time which is as possible,” he said.
the Tibetan people.” a direct negotiation between China and the Dalai Tibetan spiritual leader the 14th Dalai Lama
“The law also discusses Tibet as a political Lama or his representatives,” he added. has just returned to his exile home in Dharam-
entity. It’s been a long-standing policy of the Further, Elms has called on China to engage shala after a successful knee treatment in the US.

www.TheIndianEYE.com