Top Indian government officials were in Washington this week to meet with their Pentagon counterparts and discuss the growing Indo-U.S. military relationship amid an increasingly bellicose China.

On Tuesday, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks met with Ajit Doval, national security adviser to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Pentagon officials said they discussed strengthening operational coordination in the Indo-Pacific region and ways to increase industrial cooperation. 

“Deputy Secretary Hicks reiterated that building alliances and partnerships are a top priority for the department, and integral to the ongoing implementation of the U.S. national defense strategy,” the Defense Department said in a statement. 

The U.S. and Indian officials discussed developing a new bilateral defense industrial cooperation roadmap to accelerate technical cooperation between both countries, with an initial focus on projects related to systems like jet engines and munition-related technologies. 

The White House confirmed that General Electric wants to jointly produce jet engines that could power combat aircraft made in India. “The United States commits to an expeditious review of this application,” the White House said in a statement. 

“The deputy secretary thanked (Mr. Doval) for India’s leadership in the region and discussed avenues to deepen coordination between the U.S. and Indian militaries to address the region’s increasingly contested strategic environment,” Pentagon officials said.

• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.