Mr. Modi made the remark after talks with visiting US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin on issues of mutual concerns.
Mr. Austin also discussed with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh US-India strategic cooperation and the Indo-Pacific strategy.
Mr. Austin is the first secretary in the Biden administration to visit India.
His 3-day India visit came hours after the top foreign policy officials of the US and China exchanged sharp rebukes at the start of a meeting in Alaska, the first high-level talks under the Biden administration with the Chinese side.
