New Delhi: The European Union (EU) has posted a military attaché to its mission in India for the first time, reflecting an intensification of defence and security ties between the two sides following the grouping’s pivot to the Indo-Pacific in recent years.

The military attaché assumed his position in the EU delegation in New Delhi last week, people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity. The EU currently has military attachés in fewer than 15 countries, and the grouping posted its first attaché to the US only in early 2020.

The development comes two years after the EU unveiled its strategy for the Indo-Pacific, a region perceived as crucial for the grouping since around 40% of the foreign trade of member states passes through the South China Sea. Besides the shared concern of ensuring stability in the Indo-Pacific, intensified geopolitical competition in the region is putting a strain on trade and supply chains.

EU ambassador Hervé Delphin described the appointment of the military attaché as an investment that “will facilitate military-to-military contacts, not just military-to-diplomatic contacts”. The EU has “moved as a global security and defence actor” to build more opportunities and to see what both sides can offer to each other, he said.

When the proposal for posting a military attaché in India was mooted some years ago, the external affairs ministry backed it while the response from the defence ministry was not enthusiastic, the people cited above said. However, the situation changed following China’s aggressive actions across the region and the EU’s focus on the Indo-Pacific, they said.

India and the EU conducted their first joint naval exercise in the Gulf of Guinea on October 24 to reinforce maritime security cooperation in the region. The exercise followed the third India- EU maritime security dialogue in Brussels on October 5.

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INS Sumedha, an offshore patrol vessel, was joined by warships from the navies of Italy, France and Spain for the exercise, which included tactical manoeuvres in waters off the coast of Ghana, including a boarding and a flying exercise using helicopters.

The exercise “reflected the breadth and dynamism of EU-India cooperation on maritime security, and signalled the common determination to uphold the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)”, the EU said in a statement.

In February 2022, the EU launched a coordinated maritime presence (CMP) in the northwestern Indian Ocean to ensure a European naval presence in the Indo-Pacific and to enhance the grouping’s role as a global maritime security provider. There have also been calls by warships of EU member states such as France, Germany and Italy to Indian ports.

Delphin also pointed to other compelling reasons for enhancing security cooperation between India and the EU. Both sides are against escalation, while three of the top four shipping companies are from Denmark, France and Germany, he said.

“We don’t like asymmetry, we want a level playing field. We want free and open access. Apart from strategically lowering the risk of escalation, we want to maintain the space for trade,” Delphin said.