New Delhi: Newly-appointed US Defense Secretary Mark T Esper told Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday that Kashmir was an internal matter of India and that all India-Pakistan issues need to be settled bilaterally.
Rajnath Singh held a telephonic conversation with Esper on Tuesday to congratulate him on his appointment.
Esper appreciated India's position that the recent developments in Jammu and Kashmir are an internal matter of the country. Rajnath Singh also raised the issue of cross-border terrorism and appreciated US support to maintain peace and stability in the region.
During the course of the conversation, Rajnath Singh invited US companies to invest in the Indian defence manufacturing sector under the Make in India programme.
The ministers discussed about bilateral defence cooperation and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen and deepen mutual relations.
They also exchanged views on issues including military-to-military cooperation, defence policy, research and development cooperation, defence trade, technology and industrial cooperation.
India and the US are scheduled to hold the first tri-service joint exercise later this year. Both Rajnath Singh and Esper expressed satisfaction over steps taken to operationalise agreements like the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement and the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement.
India and the US are also scheduled to hold the 2+2 dialogue, of Defence and Foreign Ministers, later this year in the US.
Rajnath Singh made the call a day after US President Donald Trump's telephonic conversations with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan.
Trump had asked Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to "moderate" his rhetoric against India over Kashmir, as he underlined the need of exercising restraint by both sides and avoid escalation of the "tough situation" in the region.
Trump's counsel to Khan came as Modi, during his telephonic conversation with the US president, conveyed that the "extreme rhetoric and incitement" to anti-India violence by certain leaders in the region was not conducive to peace.
After his 30-minute conversation with Modi, Trump held a telephonic conversation with Khan, the second in less than a week.
"Spoke to my two good friends, Prime Minister Modi of India, and Prime Minister Khan of Pakistan, regarding trade, strategic partnerships and, most importantly, for India and Pakistan to work towards reducing tensions in Kashmir," Trump said in a tweet late on Monday.
"A tough situation, but good conversations!" the US president said.
Khan had called the Indian government "fascist" and "supremacist" on Sunday, alleging that it poses a threat to Pakistan as well as to the minorities in India.
He also said the world must also seriously consider the safety and security of India's nuclear arsenal as it impacts not just the region but the world.
Tensions between India and Pakistan spiked after India abrogated provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution to withdraw Jammu and Kashmir's special status and bifurcated it into two Union Territories, evoking strong reactions from Pakistan.
India has categorically told the international community that the scrapping of Article 370 of the Constitution to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was an internal matter and also advised Pakistan to accept the reality.
(With inputs from PTI & IANS)
