CENTRE FOR AIR POWER STUDIES - Indo-US Naval Engagement in the Indo-

Africa Command’s (USAFRICOM) Cutlass Exercise for the first time in 2021 and the Rim of Pacific exercise for the third time in 2022. [...] The maritime interests of the two extend beyond the military. [...] While the US remains the power that can ‘shape’ Indian Ocean events,6 India’s advantage lies in proximity, especially in the context of the ‘Malacca Dilemma’- a strategic tool against the PRC. [...] A recent milestone is the repair of the USNS Charles Drew in Chennai, marking the first American vessel to have been 3 CAPS InFocus 23 Septmeber 2022 repaired in India.9 It can also be gathered from statements of naval officials that India is integral to US policy in the region.10 The partnership has scope for more areas of cooperation, including coastal security and joint d. [...] The substance of an India-US naval partnership will lie not in the depth of convergence but in the nature of it.