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UK Adds Muscle Power To ‘QUAD Strategy’, Enhances Defense Ties With India To Check Chinese ‘Territorial Ambitions’

Given the increasing collaborations of Australia and the US with India as QUAD members, the UK’s apparent “India-tilt” — manifested in a series of Indo-British parleys over this month (October) — should quell the apprehensions that the recently formed AUKUS partnership belittles the four-nation alliance.

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Just see the number of such interactions in October. On October 7, the second meeting of the India-UK Joint Working Group on Cyber Capacity Building was held.

The meeting discussed various aspects of cooperation in the area of cyber capacity building and was held under the aegis of the India-UK Framework for Cyber Relationship and in support of the Enhanced Cyber Security partnership as agreed in the “India-UK 2030 Roadmap” during the India-UK Virtual Summit between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Boris Johnson on May 4.

Joint Military Exercises

On October 8, India and the UK commenced their two-week-long military exercise in Uttarakhand, called the “Ajeya Warrior”This Exercise, in which about 120 British soldiers participated and which concluded on October 20, was part of an initiative to develop interoperability and sharing of expertise with each other’s weapons, equipment, tactics, and procedures for carrying out joint military operations in a semi-urban environment.



UK Carrier Strike Group-Mumbai
UK Carrier Strike Group arrives in Mumbai, India. (Via Royal Navy)

On October 15, the UK’s Carrier Strike Group (CSG), led by HMS Queen Elizabeth, sailed into the Bay of Bengal in what was said to be a powerful demonstration of the UK-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

In its most substantial port visit to date, the CSG is not only supposed to provide a platform for a wide range of cultural demonstrations and trade and investment initiatives but also will take part in the most demanding exercise ever between the UK and India, incorporating elements from all three military services.


This exercise, named “Konkan Shakti”, will center around aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth with its fifth-generation F-35B fighter jets on India’s western coast and will continue till October 27. So far, India had participated in such exercises only with the United States and Russia. The UK thus becomes the third country in this regard.

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The deployment of HMS Queen Elizabeth is said to be a powerful demonstration of the UK’s commitment to deepening its diplomatic, economic, and security-based ties in the Indo-Pacific region where London considers India to be essential in ensuring that the region remains “free, open, inclusive and prosperous”.

Strategic Partnership

British High Commissioner to India Alex Ellis has said that “India is an essential partner for the UK in the Indo-Pacific region. The Carrier Strike Group’s visit demonstrates the deepening of the UK and India’s defense and security partnership.”

And according to First Sea Lord Adm Tony Radakin, The CSG’s engagement with India showcases the deepening comprehensive strategic partnership. Both the Indian and the Royal navies are blue-water, multi-carrier navies, which places us in a very exclusive club.

Our growing interactions are a testimony to the shared commitment to a rule-based international system, a belief in the values of open trade and in the importance of the freedom of the high seas – a right conveyed on all nations.”



The 6th Edition of India-UK Joint military exercise culminated after a validation exercise at Chaubatia, Uttarakhand, on October 21. (via Indian Army)

On October 18, the 2nd India-UK Multilateral Dialogue was held in London. Discussions covered issues of mutual interest pertaining to UN reforms, counterterrorism, peacekeeping, and climate action. The two countries exchanged views on the “Commonwealth Strategic Plan” and priorities and agreed to continue to work closely to further deepen their cooperation on multilateral issues.


Foreign Secretary’s Visit

On October 22, Britain’s new Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is commencing her three-day- official visit to India. She will hold talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on bilateral, regional, and international issues of mutual interest and will travel to Mumbai on October 23 to meet Indian business leaders.

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In fact, there are reports that HMS Queen Elizabeth’s visit has also some commercial overtones. London is keen that India considers cooperation on an “integrated all-electric propulsion system” for India’s indigenous carrier ‘Vishal’ that is in pipeline.

The UK is seen as a leader in these propulsion systems, which are used in the Type 23 frigate and Type 45 destroyer that are part of the carrier strike group. This system is based on two Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbine alternators and four diesel engines.

What all this indicates is that the UK’s tilt towards India is a clear reflection of its overall tilt to the Indo-Pacific, as envisaged in its official publications: ‘March of Global Britain in a Competitive Age: the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy’ and the command paper ‘Defence in a Competitive Age‘.

These publications also express the Johnson government’s commitment to “Global Britain”, whose manifestation happens to be the first deployment of the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier strike group to the Indo-Pacific in 2021.




UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss exchanged views with her Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar in Washington on Sept. 21. (via Twitter)

The command paper clearly talks of the following:

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Author and veteran journalist Prakash Nanda has been commenting on Indian politics, foreign policy on strategic affairs for nearly three decades. A former National Fellow of the Indian Council for Historical Research and recipient of the Seoul Peace Prize Scholarship, he is also a Distinguished Fellow at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies. He has been a Visiting Professor at Yonsei University (Seoul) and FMSH (Paris). He has also been the Chairman of the Governing Body of leading colleges of the Delhi University. Educated at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, he has undergone professional courses at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (Boston) and Seoul National University (Seoul). Apart from writing many monographs and chapters for various books, he has authored books: Prime Minister Modi: Challenges Ahead; Rediscovering Asia: Evolution of India’s Look-East Policy; Rising India: Friends and Foes; Nuclearization of Divided Nations: Pakistan, Koreas and India; Vajpayee’s Foreign Policy: Daring the Irreversible. He has written over 3000 articles and columns in India’s national media and several international dailies and magazines. CONTACT: prakash.nanda@hotmail.com
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