US, India send clear signal to China with new defense, tech deals

President Biden is setting the stage to unveil an “unprecedented” list of defense, technology and business deals alongside Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his state visit Thursday, with a clear subtext of countering China’s global ambitions and pulling New Delhi away from Russia.

Biden and Modi will speak during a press conference Thursday. They are expected to announce big-ticket deals to include India’s purchase of advanced, armed drones, called MQ9B Sea Guardians, and the inking of a deal for U.S. and Indian companies to jointly produce next-generation fighter jet engines.

U.S. officials are stopping short of specifying that deepening ties between Washington and New Delhi are centered on pushing back against Beijing’s military, economic and political threats, even as American lawmakers celebrate India as a key partner in countering China’s advances.

In a briefing Wednesday night, senior administration officials previewed more than a dozen deals that span sectors including military assistance, critical technologies, space exploration, health and the environment, among others. 

“The nature, the depth and breadth of our deliverables for this summit is unprecedented, and I think tomorrow the two leaders will be underscoring all the areas in which the U.S. and India are advancing on common fronts,” a senior administration official said. 

But Modi’s celebratory welcome in Washington — becoming just the third leader to receive the honor of a state visit during the Biden administration, as well as a coveted invite to address a joint session of Congress — is facing pushback from some lawmakers and human rights groups.

They are calling for Biden to confront the Indian leader over concerns he is fueling anti-Muslim violence and cracking down on civil liberties and freedom of the press. 

The press conference Thursday will be an extremely rare chance for reporters to ask Modi critical questions, the senior administration official said; the prime minister has never held such a press conference in India over the course his nine years in office.

The official added that Biden will have a “fulsome exchange” during the leaders’ private meeting. 

“All issues in our bilateral relationship will be explored,” the official said. “President Biden intends to be direct, respectful and deeply engaged with India in a sincere way and as a close partner.”

The defense and military partnerships are likely to be the most celebrated and promoted deals, as they come amid mounting tensions with China and are aimed at turning India away from Russia.

India and China are locked in an increasingly intense diplomatic standoff. Among India’s primary concerns about the country is Beijing’s growing assertiveness and military presence along their shared 2,100-mile border — where at least 20 Indians and four Chinese soldiers were killed in a violent confrontation in 2020 that marked one of the most dangerous military escalations between the countries since they fought a war in 1962. 

The border standoff that clash sparked continues to this day.

“I think some of the challenges that they face along their own borders have concentrated their attention and caused them to focus intensively on both greater preparation on the defense side, also, seeking closer partnerships internationally,” the official said of India.

While the country has shown less urgency regarding U.S. concerns about a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, the official said U.S. and Indian cooperation is likely to “extend increasingly not just to the Indian Ocean, but to the Pacific Ocean as well.”

The military and defense deals also highlight how the U.S. is working to turn India away from its reliance on Russia as a key weapons supplier and bring it more into the Western alliance supporting Ukraine.

“India is actively engaged in diversifying away from Russian military equipment, some of that will be made clear tomorrow,” the senior administration official said. 

HERE ARE SOME OF THE EXPECTED DEALS 

Military

• U.S. sale of MQ9B SeaGuardian armed drones, reportedly part of a $3 billion military sale.

• Agreement between General Electric and India’s state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics to jointly produce 414 engines for second-generation light-combat aircraft.

• “Trusted ship repair” agreements allowing U.S. Navy ships to undertake servicing and major repair in Indian shipyards. “One is already in effect and we have three more in the hopper,” a senior administration official said. 

• India-U.S. Defense Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X), a public-private partnership to advance cooperation between both countries’ military-production industries. The Pentagon announced the agreement Wednesday.  

Semiconductors

• $800 million investment in an Indian semiconductor assembly and test facility, announced by U.S. company Micron and the Indian National Semiconductor mission. The total cost is estimated to be $2.75 billion. 

• New semiconductor center for commercialization and innovation in India, announced by the U.S. firm Applied Materials.

• Training program for 60,000 Indian engineers, announced by LAM research, a semiconductor development and manufacturing company. 

Internet and telecommunications

• India will participate in the U.S. “rip and replace” program that removes telecommunications equipment made by “untrusted vendors,” — part of U.S. efforts to rout out threats posed by Chinese communication firms. 

• Collaboration on 5G and 6G technologies, including Open RAN systems – efforts to standardize wireless equipment and networks. 

Critical Minerals

• U.S. support for India to become a member of the Mineral Security Partnership that strengthens critical mineral supply chains whose components are essential in technologies needed for the green transition, such as batteries, electric grids and solar power. China is one of the largest producers of these critical minerals, accounting for nearly 80 percent of the world’s rare earth element supplies. 

Quantum Computing and AI

• Joint “Indo-U.S. quantum coordination mechanism” to increase collaboration across governments, industries and academia in the U.S. and India. 

• Indian quantum universities and entities are joining the U.S. Quantum Economic Development Consortium.

• “Implementation arrangement” on artificial intelligence (AI), advanced wireless and quantum technologies. 

Space

• India will sign on to NASA’s Artemis Accords, launched in 2020, to advance a common vision for space exploration. 

• NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) will develop a strategic framework for human spaceflight cooperation this year. The U.S. and India have also agreed to a joint mission to the International Space Station in 2024.

People-to-people

• Senior administration officials touted India’s growing student population base in the U.S., highlighting that they are “on pace” to become the largest foreign student community in the United States with a 20 percent increase in their ranks last year alone.

• Pilot program launched by the U.S. to adjudicate domestic renewals of certain petition-based temporary work visas later this year, including for Indian nationals who hold H1-B and L visas. 

• India will get two new U.S. Consulates in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad — bringing the number of consulates in the country up from four to six.

Health

• The United States National Cancer Institute will collaborate with Indian scientists on digital health and innovation, including artificial intelligence, as a means to help with cancer diagnosis and prognosis. 

• Joint U.S.-India cancer dialogue under Biden’s Cancer Moonshot that will bring experts together from both the public and private sector to “identify concrete areas of collaboration to accelerate the rate of progress” against cancer.