India, US mull using Indian shipyards for maintenance of American vessels

In a small but significant move, India and the US have decided to explore the possibilities of Indian shipyards not only maintaining but also repairing American navy ships.

This is expected to not only further boost the India-US defence trade, but also bring additional business to the Indian shipyards.

The decision was taken during the India-US 2+2 ministerial that was held here on Monday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken along with Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin led the American delegation while the Indian delegation was led by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

"To further enhance defence industrial cooperation in the naval sector, both sides agreed to explore possibilities of utilising the Indian shipyards for repair and maintenance of ships of the US Maritime Sealift Command (MSC) to support mid-voyage repair of US Naval ships," said the joint statement issued after the 2+2 Dialogue.

Over the past one decade, there has been enhanced cooperation between Indian and American militaries, in particular among the militaries in the Indo-Pacific region.

Notably, Military Sealift Command ships are made up of a core fleet of ships owned by the United States Navy and others under long-term-charter augmented by short-term or voyage-chartered ships.

Acknowledging that the navies have been a driving force in advancing the United States and India's shared interests in the Indian Ocean Region and the wider Indo-Pacific, the ministers discussed opportunities to further advance and deepen maritime cooperation, including in underwater domain awareness, according to a joint statement.

It also took note of India's focus on developing its domestic capabilities and helping to ensure reliable defence supplies.

The statement said that the ministers were committed to work closely across their respective governments on co-production, co-development, cooperative testing of advanced systems, investment promotion, and the development of Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities in India.