New Delhi: The India-US strategic partnership is characterised by mutual trust and both sides are increasingly in agreement on key issues, such as countering China’s aggression, promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific and addressing regional security challenges, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday.

Singh made the remarks at a bilateral meeting with his American counterpart, Lloyd Austin, that took place shortly after the conclusion of the fifth edition of the India-US “2+2” ministerial dialogue.

The defence minister’s comments came amid the more-than-three-year border row between India and China in eastern Ladakh as well as concerns over the increasing forays by Chinese military ships into the Indian Ocean region.

Press Trust of India