The National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) for the 2021 fiscal year starting October, which the US Senate took up on Thursday, seeks fighter jet training detachment for India, Japan and Australia in the US Pacific territory of Guam

NEW DELHI: The United States will offer fighter jet training to India, Japan and Australia even as it plans multiple initiatives to counter China’s aggression across Asia Pacific including its standoff with India along the Line of Actual Control.

The National Defence Authorization Act (NDAA) for the 2021 fiscal year starting October, which the US Senate took up on Thursday, seeks fighter jet training detachment for India, Japan and Australia in the US Pacific territory of Guam.

Further, secretary of state Mike Pompeo on Thursday said the US is moving troops from Europe and deploying them to other places in response to the Chinese threat to India and Southeast Asian nations.

Six months ago US defence secretary Mark Esper and Singapore defence minister Ng Eng Hen had signed a memorandum of understanding for Singapore to set up a fighter jet training detachment in Guam.

Japan, one of India's emerging strategic partners and member of the quadrilateral, has also highlighted the need to keep an eye on China's military capabilities and intentions across Asia.

Japanese defence minister Taro Kono acknowledged the persistent threat from China and North Korea, not only in the hard power arena but also in cyberspace, at a special briefing for foreign media in Tokyo on Thursday after Japanese forces chased a Chinese submarine out of Japanese waters.

“We need to raise awareness of what's going on around Japan,” Kono said, pointing to China's recent actions in the South China Sea, Hong Kong, and along its border with India.

The NDAA 2021 calls for the US secretary of defence to submit to the Congressional defence committees a report assessing the merit and feasibility of entering into agreements similar to that of Singapore with other US allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region, to include Japan, Australia, and India, officials said.

Among other things, the bill calls for a Pacific Deterrence Initiative, which will focus resources on the Indo-Pacific, addressing key military capability gaps, reassuring US allies and partners, and bolstering the credibility of the US, said Senator Jim Inhofe, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The bill proposes procurement of 48 long-range anti-ship missiles (LRASMs), which it said will be especially useful in the Indo-Pacific, which the defence department has named its “priority theatre”. NDAA also seeks acceleration in the American effort to establish F-35A operating locations forward in the Indo-Pacific region.