US Navy chief begins 5-day visit to India; lays wreath at National War Memorial in Delhi

New Delhi, Oct 12: US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michael Gilday on Tuesday laid the wreath at the National War Memorial in the national capital. Gilday, who is on a five-day official visit to India from October 11 to 15, will interact with India's Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh, in addition to other high ranking officials.

 

  

Admiral Gilday is scheduled to visit the Indian Navy's Western Naval Command at Mumbai and Eastern Naval Command at Visakhapatnam wherein he would interact with the respective Commanders-in-Chief. He is also scheduled to embark on the United States Navy (USN) Carrier Strike Group off the east coast of India along with an Indian delegation.

 

 

 

"This visit is a great opportunity for me to meet with my counterpart in India and discuss areas for continued mutual cooperation. No doubt, there are many areas where we can partner and collaborate," Gilday said on Friday while announcing the visit.

In a statement, Gilday also described India as "one of the closest strategic partners" and said, the relationship between New Delhi and Washington "is a stronghold of a free and open Indo-Pacific." "I am grateful for our navies’ continued cooperation in the Indo-Pacific to create an inclusive, free and open rules-based order," the senior official also said, adding, "And by continuing to work closely with the Indian Navy, we will increase our interoperability for decades to come as well as maintain security, stability, and prosperity."

 

 

The visit coincides with the second phase of the Malabar exercise, which is set to begin from Tuesday. The mega wargame in the Bay of Bengal will continue till October 15 and it will feature the navies of all four Quad countries - India, the US, Australia and Japan. According to the Indian Navy officials, the second phase of the Malabar exercise will feature a number of complex drills involving several frontline warships and other assets of the four navies.

 

Besides, the Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat was also on a visit to the US and met the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark A Milley and both discussed a range of issues, including ways to ensure regional security. Washington and New Delhi "share a strong military-to-military relationship under the US-India Major Defence Partnership, which supports a free and open Indo-Pacific".

 

 

On the other hand, PM Narendra Modi was on a three-day visit to US where he met top CEOs of the United States. He also met US Vice President Kamala Harris where he discussed COVID-19, Afghanistan and Pakistan's role in terrorism. PM Modi also held bilateral talks with US President Joe Biden.