India and the US held the first round of discussions under the recently-constituted maritime security dialogue between officials of Defence and External Affairs ministries and their U.S. counterparts. The dialogue was one of the several new initiatives agreed between Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his U.S. counterpart Ashton Carter during the latter’s visit to India last month as part of the maritime security objectives under the India-US Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region.

U.S. Ambassador to India, Richard Verma, who participated in the discussions, noted that the creation of this dialogue “is a further sign of the growing relations between our two countries.” The other initiatives agreed include the conclusion of a “white shipping” technical arrangement to improve data sharing on commercial shipping traffic and Navy-to-Navy discussions on submarine safety and anti-submarine warfare.

India has been wary of increased Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean that it considers its backyard as well as reports of Chinese bases coming up in countries like Djibouti. Indian naval ships have in recent months increased their port calls along the Gulf and coast of Africa as well as in South-East Asia.

The India-US dialogue comes as India and the US are warily eyeing the rise of China as are the Asian giant’s smaller SouthEast Asian neighbours such as the Philippines and Vietnam who are locked in maritime disputes with China. China building artificial islands in the waters of the South China Sea is also upsetting its smaller neighbours.