Here are excerpts from Leon Panetta’s speech at the Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses on last Wednesday in New Delhi. I have bolded the most operative sections. The unspoken code in the speech is leveraging India to counterbalance China’s rising power.
“America is at a turning point. After a decade of war, we are developing a new defense strategy for the 21st century, a central feature of that strategy is rebalancing toward the Asia-Pacific region. In particular, we will expand our military partnerships and our presence in the arc extending from the Western Pacific and East Asia into the Indian Ocean region and South Asia. Defense cooperation, defense cooperation with India is a linchpin in this strategy.
India is one of the largest and most dynamic countries in the region and, for that matter, in the world with one of the most capable militaries. India also shares with the United States a strong commitment to a set of principles that help maintain international security and prosperity. We share a commitment to open and free commerce. We share a commitment to open access by all to our shared domains of sea, air, space and cyberspace. We share a commitment to resolving disputes without coercion or the use of force and in accordance with international law. We share a commitment to abide by international standards and international norms — rules of the road, if you will — which promote international stability and peace for the world. One of the ways we will advance these principles is to help develop the capabilities of countries who share these values, and India certainly is one of those countries.
Our two nations face many of the same security challenges: from violent extremism and terrorism to piracy on the high seas, and from the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to regional instability. Handling these challenges requires a forward-looking vision for our defense partnership and a plan for advancing it month by month and year by year. We have built a strong foundation, and we will enhance this partnership over time in the spirit of equality, common interest and mutual respect.
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What is it we can do to improve a practical defense partnership? At a very practical level, our defense partnership is coming of age. Expanded military exercises, defense sales, intelligence sharing are key examples of the relationship’s maturation. Last year alone we held more than 50 cooperative defense events. Some of the most significant include our military exercises, which enhance our ability to prepare for real-world challenges.
The annual MALABAR naval exercise has grown from a passing exercise for our ships into a full-scale engagement across all functional areas of naval warfare. In March, U.S. Army soldiers joined their counterparts in India to rehearse scenarios involving United Nations peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance/disaster relief in a post-conflict setting. U.S. soldiers even had the chance to participate in a Holi celebration, in which, I gather, all experienced a colorful occasion. One month later the SHATRUJEET exercise took place at Camp Pendleton in California, my home state, with amphibious operations and other exercises between U.S. Marines and Indian soldiers.
These engagements, these exercises provide opportunities for our militaries to learn from each other. This will sharpen our skills the next time we are called upon to interdict a weapons of mass destruction shipment {India expert note: this refers to India’s proximity to the Straits of Malacca) or break up a terrorist plot or respond to a future tsunami.
We’ve also increased our defense sales relationship {India expert note: sales by USA to India, one way only } from virtually nothing early in the last decade to sales worth well over $8 billion today. Our sales are rapidly growing.
For example, India and the US have agreed to sales of maritime surveillance and transport aircraft. India will soon have the largest — the second-largest fleet of C-17s in the world, expanding the reach and strength of India’s forces and their ability to rapidly deploy. Your C-130J transport aircraft and P-8I maritime surveillance aircraft purchases are also historic. In fact, India and the United States will be the only countries operating the P-8I aircraft.
In providing such world-class capabilities to the Indian armed forces, we also enabled new training and exchange opportunities between our militaries. For example, our sales of transport aircraft included U.S. Air Force training of Indian pilots, loadmasters and maintenance staff.
What this means:
Intent on the US part towards India is very clear. We are still waiting for full translation into reality.
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
