Lloyd Austin News

By Phil Stewart and Suleiman Al-Khalidi

India and the United States pledged to strengthen their strategic alliance by enhancing defence and security collaborations and expanding cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region in response to China's growing military assertiveness on Friday. Additionally, they unveiled intentions to collaborate on the joint production of an armoured infantry vehicle.

Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, announced on Friday that India and the US are set to collaborate on co-producing infantry combat vehicles, marking a crucial step in their defense industrial cooperation. This announcement comes in the backdrop of both nations intensifying their strategic ties in response to China's growing military assertiveness. During the '2+2' ministerial dialogue, Austin highlighted ongoing efforts to expedite the delivery of MQ-9B drones to India from the US.

India flagged its concerns at the '2+2' foreign and defence ministerial meeting. «We have made our concerns very very clear,» Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said at a media briefing. The American delegation at the '2+2' ministerial dialogue talks was led by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin while External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh headed the Indian side. «We have core security concerns and I am sure you are all aware of recent video that has surfaced from one such individual,» Kwatra said adding the US side understood New Delhi's concerns. The ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations in September over the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June in the Canadian town of Surrey. Days after Trudeau's allegations, India temporarily suspended issuance of visas to Canadian citizens and asked Ottawa to downsize its diplomatic presence in the country to ensure parity. Canada has already withdrawn 41 diplomats and their family members from India. India has already resumed some of the visa services.

Indo-Pacific region. The country said the US-India relationship is one of the most strategic and consequential of the 21st century, as per a fact sheet released by the US State Department. The fact sheet said the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue between the US Secretaries of State and Defence and their Indian counterparts is the premier recurring dialogue mechanism between the United States and India. «Through the 2+2 mechanism, US and Indian officials advance a wide range of initiatives across the breadth of the United States-India partnership,» it said. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday arrived in New Delhi to co-chair the 5th India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Official Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said Blinken's visit will give further boost to India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership. «A warm welcome to U.S.

NEW DELHI/WASHINGTON : US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will hold talks with India this week that officials say will focus on security challenges in the Indo-Pacific and concerns over China, rather than the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. The talks in New Delhi on Friday with India's foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and defence minister Rajnath Singh are part of the so-called "2 2 Dialogue", launched in 2018 to boost defence cooperation and align policy objectives in the Indo-Pacific region.

The upcoming fifth annual US-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in New Delhi will see the arrival of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin. During their visit, they will hold discussions with their Indian counterparts, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The primary focus of these meetings will encompass critical issues, including strengthening defence collaboration, exploring emerging technologies, addressing space-related matters, and adapting to the evolving global landscape.

United States accused Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday of trying to use the Israel-Hamas war to reduce Western support for Ukraine, which it said requires continued backing from Washington to prevent Russian success. Hamas militants carried out a shock cross-border attack from Gaza this month that Israeli officials say killed more than 1,400 people, prompting Washington to rush military aid to Israel and sparking fears in Kyiv that backing for its war against invading Russian forces could suffer. «Putin is very much trying to take advantage of the Hamas attack on Israel in the hopes that it will distract us… and that it will result in the United States pulling back its resources» from Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a Senate hearing on supplemental national security funding. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned during the same hearing that Putin will succeed in his bid to seize Ukrainian territory if the United States halts support for Kyiv. «I can guarantee you that without our support, Putin will be successful,» Austin said.

Joe Biden administration's determination to maintain a delicate balance. In an effort to prevent further aggression, which might be sparked by Israel's fight against Hamas, the United States wants to take maximum action against Iranian-backed organisations that it believes are aiming at the country. At the same time, it wants to avoid escalating the situation and starting a larger conflict, AP added.

Gaza with air strikes early on Monday and its aircraft struck southern Lebanon overnight, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting of his top generals and his war cabinet to assess the escalating conflict. Israel's attacks concentrated on the Gaza Strip's centre and north, Palestinian media reported. A strike on a house near the Jabalia refugee camp, in northern Gaza, killed several Palestinians and wounded others, according to media reports.

Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said Sunday that the United States expects the Israel-Hamas war to escalate through involvement by proxies of Iran, and they asserted that the Biden administration is prepared to respond if American personnel or armed forces become the target of any such hostilities. «This is not what we want, not what we're looking for.

US Navy ship in the Red Sea on Thursday shot down missiles and drones that had been fired by Iran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen, possibly at Israel, the Pentagon said. Three «land-attack cruise missiles and several drones» were intercepted by a destroyer, Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder told reporters.

Israel-Hamas war enters 6th day, India begins Operation Ajay, over 1,400 killed in Gaza attack Read all the LIVE updates on Israel-Hamas war here 1. Tens of thousands in Gaza are estimated to have fled south after Israel gave Palestinians 24 hours' notice to evacuate from the enclave's north before an expected ground offensive. Prior to the evacuation order, more than 400,000 Palestinians had been internally displaced due to the hostilities.

(Reuters) — U.S. stock index futures slipped on Monday as a growing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas roiled global markets and pushed investors toward safe-haven assets, while crude prices jumped close to 3%.

The death toll in Israel has reached at least 600 people, according to government numbers, with more than 100 believed to be kidnapped and more than 2,000 people injured after the Hamas militant group attacked the country by air, land and sea.

Turkey's National Intelligence Agency carried out strikes in Syria against Kurdish militant targets after a bomb attack in Ankara last weekend, a Turkish security source said on Thursday. On Thursday night, Turkish military air strikes destroyed 30 Kurdish militant targets in northern Syria, including an oil well, a storage facility and shelters, and "neutralised" many militants, the Turkish defence ministry said. Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder said Turkish drones had been seen carrying out airstrikes in Hasakah, Syria, on Thursday morning about 1 km away from U.S.

India-US ties one of the most defining partnerships, several top Biden administration officials praised External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's commitment to this bond, calling him the «architect» of modern US-India relations. These accolades came during a special reception hosted by India's Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, in honor of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.

India and the US agreed to continue their cooperation in the areas of defence, space and clean energy as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Secretary of State Antony Blinken here, amid a simmering diplomatic row between India and Canada over the killing of a Khalistani separatist. Jaishankar is currently on a five-day official trip to Washington DC. This is the highest-level interaction between the two countries after the recent G-20 Summit in New Delhi.

By Patricia Zengerle

Lloyd Austin urged allied defense leaders Tuesday to «dig deep» and provide more air defense systems for Ukraine to help it block increasing barrages of Russian missiles, even as debate grows in Congress over aid to Kyiv. But while the allies said they will discuss how they can best help Ukraine's counteroffensive in the coming winter months, they appeared no closer to commitments on the longer-range missiles that Kyiv's leaders insist they need as they struggle to retake land gained by Russia earlier in the conflict. «Air defense is saving lives,» Austin said. «I urged allies and partners to dig deep and donate whatever air defense munitions they can as Ukraine heads into another winter of war.» Speaking at the close of the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, Austin said allies have done a «credible job» of getting some air defenses to the war, «but there's much more work to be done.

Russia launched a massive drone attack on the western city of Lviv early Tuesday, damaging a warehouse facility in a fiery blaze and killing one man, Ukrainian authorities said. Ukraine intercepted 27 of 30 Shahed drones overnight, the Air Force said.