US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman met India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla in New Delhi in October for discussions that included growing security relations.

Earlier in September in Washington Prime Minister Narendra Modi met President Joe Biden who “reaffirmed the strength of the defense relationship between the US and India and the unwavering commitment to India as a Major Defense Partner”, according to the White House. Two areas that figured in the DPG meeting—expanding defence cooperation with regional partners and information sharing—were emphasised by Mr Biden during the meeting with Mr Modi. That was followed by a summit of the Quad which Mr Modi and Mr Biden held with Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia and Mr Yoshihide Suga, who was at the time Japan’s Prime Minister.

Also in September India’s Chief of Defense Staff General Bipin Rawat met with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and discussed expanding multilateral cooperation with regional partners and enabling the militaries of the two countries to work together in operations. Mr Austin was the first cabinet-level official to visit India when he met with Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

The DPG meeting also “laid the groundwork” for the 2+2 dialogue of Dr Jaishankar and Mr Singh with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Austin to be held later in 2021, Mr Semelroth said. Looking to strengthen defence against China’s aggressive actions in the Indo-Pacific, the US and Australia set up a security pact with the UK called ‘AUKUS’, also in September.