Rajnath Singh arrives in Hawaii to visit US Indo-Pacific Command Headquarters

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has arrived in Hawaii for a brief visit to the Headquarters of the United States Indo-Pacific Command, a unified combatant command of America's Armed Forces responsible for the key Indo-Pacific region.

On his arrival from Washington, DC, Singh was received by Commander, US INDOPACOM Admiral John Aquilino. ''Reached Honolulu in Hawaii for a visit to the Headquarters of United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). I shall also be visiting the Headquarters of US Army Pacific and Pacific Air Forces, during my brief stay in Hawaii,'' Singh tweeted on Wednesday.

The USINDOPACOM and Indian military have wide-ranging engagements, including a number of military exercises, training events and exchanges.

Singh will visit the USINDOPACOM headquarters, Pacific Fleet and the training facilities in Hawaii on Wednesday, before returning to India.

USINDOPACOM is a unified combatant command of the United States Armed Forces responsible for the Indo-Pacific region.

India, the US and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China's rising military manoeuvring in the region.

China claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it. Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea. Singh is also expected to lay a wreath at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific and visit the Headquarters of the US Army Pacific and Pacific Air Forces, during his brief stay in Hawaii.

Singh along with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar reached the US on Sunday to attend the India-US '2+2' Ministerial Dialogue in Washington on Monday - the first under the Biden administration. The US side was represented by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin at the dialogue. Before the 2+2 Dialogue, Singh held a bilateral meeting with Austin in the Pentagon. They also attended a virtual meeting between US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.