Recommendation 8

HM Government · verbatim extract Accepted

The Government welcomes the Committee’s recognition of the steps taken to deepen the UK’s relationship with India and agrees with its recommendations. India is and will continue to be a key partner in the Indo-Pacific and on the global stage. The UK’s relationship with India is a core pillar of our approach to the region. The Defence Command Paper Refresh made a clear acknowledgement of the mutual benefit of collaborating with India including on defence capability. We have committed to working jointly with India in the Western Indian Ocean, through our defence industries and in shared threat domains, such as counterterrorism, building on the bedrock provided by the UK-India Roadmap. The UK seeks to pursue “best of class” capability collaboration with India, driven by a robust industrial base and ambitious Research & Development (R&D). To this end MOD has established Defence Partnership-India (DP-I), a bespoke programme office that brings together HMG and industry resource. Its mission is to remove the barriers to India’s choosing British partners on its journey to establish a more resilient and self-sufficient defence industry and to provide specialist support for UK defence companies seeking to expand their presence in India. It will provide the Government of India with a single point of access to the UK’s industry, R&D, academic enterprise, and a consistent legal framework for government to government (G2G) contracting, where appropriate. The MOD is also committed to improving its interoperability with the Indian armed forces, with the aim of achieving a shared strong and enduring defence and security partnership. We have committed to the return of the UK Carrier Strike Group to the Indo-Pacific in 2025. Whilst planning continues, this will allow for invaluable engagement with India to conduct more complex Carrier Strike exercises than previously. UK regional engagement ASEAN Recommendation 9. The UK must rekindle its statecraft skills and reaffirm its commitment as a reliable partner to countries in South-East Asia and the Pacific, in order to uphold the international rules-based order, given its proximity to China and the political diversity of the region. The Committee welcomes the 2022 UK-ASEAN Action Plan as an opportunity for the UK to institutionalise its regional engagement. Although not primarily a defence cooperation mechanism, the UK should further its UK Defence and the Indo-Pacific engagement with ASEAN on maritime security, building resilience in member states, and seek to deepen its bilateral relationships with these countries through capacity building exercises. In parallel with this, the UK should continue to strengthen and build productive relationships with South-East Asian states and the Pacific Islands.