US holds India in “deep respect”: Under Secretary of War Elbridge Colby after visit
Colby’s visit to India ended on Thursday. He came here on Tuesday.
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During his visit to India, Colby met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and External Affairs Minister Vikram Misri. He also co-chaired the US-India Defense Policy Group meeting with Defense Minister Rajesh Kumar Singh. The discussions advanced the India-US Major Defense Partnership Framework, which War Secretary Pete Hegseth signed with Defense Minister Rajnath Singh in October 2025.
In the official statement shared by Pentagon Chief Spokesperson Sean Parnell, it was noted how the framework calls for the United States and India to expand operational coordination, information sharing, regional and global cooperation, and defense industry, science and technology cooperation. His visit also included consultations with Ambassador Sergio Gor, US Ambassador to India and Special Representative for South and Central Asian Affairs.
The statement emphasized that Undersecretary Colby also gave a speech at the Ananta Center in New Delhi, where he emphasized the durability of the India-US partnership and laid out a framework to guide the defense and strategic cooperation of the two countries.
He underlined that the United States and India benefit from an Indo-Pacific in which no single power can dominate the region, and stated that his country believes that India will play a central role in ensuring a positive balance of power in the Indo-Pacific. The United States views India with deep respect, Colby said, as a continental republic, a nation with a proud strategic tradition, and a country whose decisions will profoundly shape the future of the Indo-Pacific and the broader international landscape.
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“Our two countries, of course, differ in important ways in terms of history, geography and perspective. But we share something fundamental: the belief that the future of Asia should be determined by sovereign nations that can chart their own course,” he said.
At the 18th Defense Policy Group meeting held in New Delhi on Wednesday, India and the US held substantive discussions on key ongoing defense agreements, including India’s plans to purchase six more P-8I anti-submarine warfare aircraft. India is also planning to sign an agreement to purchase Javelin anti-tank guided missiles from the US through the emergency route. The two sides also held talks on Excalibur precision guided artillery ammunition, for which India signed a Rs 300 crore deal under the emergency supply route.
The diplomatic visit serves as an important step in the implementation of high-level agreements. According to a statement from the US War Department, Colby’s visit focuses on “advancing the goals established by President Trump and Prime Minister Modi in their joint statement in February 2025” and “implementing the US-India Major Defense Partnership Framework”.
