12:47 PM Biden administration plans to continue promoting the Indo-US defense partnership, Defense Secretary nominee has told lawmakers during his confirmation hearing on Tuesday. Retired General Lloyd Austin, told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, “If confirmed, my overarching objective for our defense relationship with India would be to continue elevating the partnership”. Retired General Llyod Austin has been nominated by President-elect Joe Biden, as his Defense Secretary. He said he would also seek to intensify and broaden the defense cooperation between India and the US through the Quad security dialogue and other regional multilateral engagements. “I would further operationalize India’s ‘Major Defense Partner’ status and continue to build upon existing strong defense cooperation to ensure the US and Indian militaries can collaborate to address shared interests,” Austin said in response to a question submitted before his confirmation hearing.