Sri Vijaya Puram, October 12: The Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), Vice Admiral Vineet McCarty, held talks with United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) chief Admiral Samuel Paparo on strengthening bilateral defence cooperation, bringing the strategically located tri-service command into the latest round of India-US military engagement focused on the Indo-Pacific.
The meeting took place as Paparo visited India, with the US Embassy stating that the discussions centred on continued cooperation between the two countries’ defence forces. The embassy said the engagement reflected the deepening India-US Major Defence Partnership and their shared work towards a safer Indo-Pacific region.
Paparo met McCarty while travelling to Japan, according to the US Embassy’s account of the meeting posted on X. The statement highlighted continued military cooperation between the two countries but did not provide details of specific agreements or operational outcomes from the discussions.
Paparo also held discussions with Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh during his India visit. According to the Ministry of Defence, the two sides explored ways to strengthen defence and strategic cooperation and exchanged views on regional and global developments.
The engagements followed a high-level gathering of Indian and US military leaders hosted by the US Embassy at Roosevelt House in New Delhi last week. Participants included Paparo, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, Chief of Defence Staff General N. S. Raja Subramani and Chief of the Army Staff General Dhiraj Seth, along with other senior Indian defence officials.
US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said Paparo’s visit highlighted the growing importance of the bilateral defence partnership. He described USPACOM as the United States’ oldest and largest geographic combatant command, overseeing approximately 400,000 military and civilian personnel across a region spanning roughly half the globe.
The gathering at Roosevelt House also included Vice Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit and Chief of Integrated Defence Staff Air Marshal Tejinder Singh, according to Gor. The ambassador said the meeting brought together senior defence leadership from both countries to underscore the partnership’s growing strength and ambition.
The discussions involving the ANC chief form part of a wider series of engagements between Indian and US defence leaders during Paparo’s visit. The latest meetings covered bilateral military cooperation, strategic coordination and perspectives on regional and global developments, according to statements issued by the two governments and the US Embassy.
The statements did not disclose specific outcomes from Paparo’s meeting with McCarty or identify new defence commitments arising from the discussions.
