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Committee urged to deepen U.S.‑India maritime cooperation and Quad maritime focus
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Summary
Witnesses and members urged Congress to expand maritime domain awareness and joint operational cooperation with India, highlighting Diego Garcia, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Malabar exercises, and the need to monitor Chinese undersea activity.
Members and witnesses at the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing emphasized maritime security as a core element of U.S.‑India cooperation in the Indo‑Pacific. The Chair asked what concrete congressional actions could improve maritime cooperation and intelligence gathering to bolster deterrence; witnesses recommended expanding maritime domain awareness, preserving access to bases, and increasing undersea monitoring.
"There's already a good deal of cooperation underway, particularly intelligence sharing around the subject of maritime domain awareness that has improved significantly in recent years," said Jeff Smith, who highlighted coordinated patrols and refueling at sea. Dhruva Jaishankar said India has stepped up patrols since 2017 and listed deployments and exercises in the region, adding that operational cooperation could grow in the undersea domain.
Delegates and members pointed to Malabar naval exercises, recent Indian naval visits to Guam, and the potential to extend the Quad's maritime domain awareness work into the Western Indian Ocean. Witnesses recommended congressional support for sustained funding, information‑sharing agreements, and logistical arrangements to deepen interoperability. The committee requested written follow‑up from witnesses for more specific proposals.
