Free Indo-Pacific region needs collective defence of US, allies: Expert

Nearly two-third of the world's oil shipments transit across the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Eight of the 10 busiest container ports are in the region.

A top Indian-American executive in the US defence sector has said that a free and open Indo-Pacific region will require an "unprecedented convergence" of the collective defence industrial bases of the United States and its allies.

Speaking at the 'Indian Ideas Summit' organised by the US-India Business Council (US-IBC) on Tuesday, Vivek Lall, chief executive of the General Atomics Global Corporation, also pointed out that the global defence industry was adopting new technologies at a rapid rate, which needs better synergy between the governments and the industry to avoid obsoletion.

Regardless of whether or not international supply chains shift in