India expands defence partnerships with the United States and United Kingdom

The United States renamed its Indo‑Pacific Command back to the U.S. Pacific Command and, during the G‑7 summit in France, President Joe Biden praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “tough negotiator”. Recent declassified U.S. strategy documents reveal a plan to make India a major defence partner to counter China’s influence, building on agreements such as the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) and the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) signed with New Delhi in 2020.

Separately, India and the United Kingdom held the 15th India‑United Kingdom Executive Steering Group in London from 17–19 June 2026. The meeting focused on deepening defence cooperation through joint exercises, interoperability, technology exchanges and engagement between defence think‑tanks, following a recently finalised comprehensive trade deal. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper highlighted the partnership’s future‑oriented outlook.