India-China border faceoff: Indian defence minister flies to Moscow to discuss defence hardware
Amidst an escalation in border faceoff with China in Ladakh, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has flown to Moscow today on a three-day visit, where he is expected to discuss expediting Russia's supply of several defence hardware, including missile defence shields.
Singh is visiting Moscow primarily to attend a meeting of the Russia-China led security grouping Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which is expected to deliberate on the regional security scenario, the Indian defence ministry said in a statement yesterday.
Singh will also hold talks with Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu and other top military officials seeking to speed up implementation of several defence procurement programmes, it said.
"India and Russia are privileged strategic partners," the statement said, adding that the visit "marks one of many high-level political interactions which the two countries engage in regularly."
The SCO Defence Ministers' meeting is taking place at a time when two of its member countries, India and China, are locked in a bitter border standoff in eastern Ladakh.
During his stay in Moscow, Singh will also attend separate meetings of Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member-countries in commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of victory in World War II.
This is Singh's second visit to Moscow in a little over two months. He was in Russia in June to attend a commemorative function to mark victory over Nazi Germany in the second World War.
The Indian defence minister's forthcoming visit to Moscow comes days after India pulled out of a multi-nation military exercise in Russia owing to ongoing tensions with China. That exercise would also see the presence of Chinese and Pakistani troops.
However, the navies of India and Russia would hold a joint contactless drill near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on September 4-5, coinciding with Rajnath Singh's Moscow visit.
The exercise will take place during the passage of Russian navy ships from Hambantota port in Sri Lanka to Malacca Straits in the Bay of Bengal.
Indian Navy will deploy a destroyer, a corvette and a tanker with integrated helicopters.