WIREDGOV

With the signing of the latest economic deal, India and the UK should either elevate their existing security arrangements or explore avenues to enhance the trajectory of their defence relations.

On 24 June 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart, the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, secured a historic trade deal that is expected to boost employment creation, propel the UK’s faltering economy and leverage the reduction in tariffs to increase bilateral trade by nearly 39%. The occasion was accompanied by the parallel signing of a ‘renewed’ Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP), reinforcing ‘closer collaboration’ in areas such as security, defence, technology, climate and others.

While India and the UK recently concluded a historic trade agreement, they have also accelerated security cooperation, both in scope and form, to achieve similar levels of parity as demonstrated in the economic aspect of the bilateral relationship.

Both countries are now converging to counter China and aligning to ensure a ‘free and open’ Indo-Pacific region. Their military exercises have become more complex, contingency-centric and operationally integrated; however, periodic iterations of these exercises are necessary. Additionally, both countries have policies that enhance maritime domain awareness (MDA) and empower small island nations, notably through India’s MAHASAGAR policy and the UK’s ‘East of Suez’ tilt. This provides opportunities for both states to explore collaboration in enhancing MDA.

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