India-US sign 10-year defence pact amid tariff turmoil

India and the US have signed a framework agreement to expand defence cooperation over the next 10-years.

The pact was announced after a meeting between US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh in Kuala Lumpur.

The agreement will enhance “coordination, information sharing and tech cooperation” and advance “regional stability and deterrence”, Hegseth said on X.

It comes as the two countries are trying to close a trade deal and tide over tense ties after US President Donald Trump slapped 50% tariffs on India, including a 25% penalty for buying Russian oil and arms.

The agreement is expected to provide policy direction to the entire spectrum of the India-US defence relationship.

“It is a signal of our growing strategic convergence and will herald a new decade of partnership. Defence will remain as a major pillar of our bilateral relations. Our partnership is critical for ensuring a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific region,” Singh said, in a post on X.

According to Pramit Pal Chaudhuri of the Eurasia Group think tank, the agreement was supposed to have been concluded in July-August this year, but India’s irritation at Trump’s statements about his role in ending the conflict with Pakistan led to it getting delayed.

The pact is the latest in a series of agreements between the two countries that have made it “easier for the two militaries to achieve interoperability, India to access technology and the two defence sectors to work together”, Mr Chaudhuri said.

“This provides for further potential in all three areas,” he added.

India and the US have been steadily ramping up their defence ties recently.

Defence was a major talking point between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump on the former’s visit to the US in February this year, withTrump saying the US would increase military equipment sales to India by many billions of dollars, ultimately paving the way to providing Delhi with F-35 stealth warplanes.

But since then, Delhi’s dependence on discounted Russian oil as well as its long-standing defence relationship with Moscow have been a major point of irritation for the Trump administration.

While Russia continues to be a major supplier of arms to India, its share of Indian defence imports has been steadily falling as Delhi seeks to diversify its portfolio and boost domestic capacity.

In recent months India has hinted that it would be open to increasing energy and defence purchases from the US.

The two countries are locked in high-stakes trade talks, aimed at reaching a long-awaited deal by November.

With inputs from Soutik Biswas, India correspondent with the BBC.