Panetta to push for India-US strategic embrace **
June 3, 2012
By Mukesh Kaushik New Delhi, June 3 -- To give a big push to rapid transformation of the US-India defence relationship into a strategic partnership, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta is coming to New Delhi on a two-day visit beginning Wednesday.
Official sources said he is likely to push for finalising some of the key defence agreements which are pending between the two nations for a long time.
Significantly, Mr Panetta's visit to India, his first as defence secretary, comes just a week before the India-US strategic dialogue slated to be held in Washington.
The sources said Mr Panetta will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Defence Minister AK Antony and National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon during his visit.
In an apparent bid to build up trust, the US has recently removed laboratories of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from the entity list, thereby allowing the DRDO to freely procure sensitive technologies from Washington.
It is learnt that in a run up to Mr Panetta's visit, a defence policy group met in Delhi in which the US defence secretary's close aide and Pentagon's chief policy maker Jim Miller is understood to have proposed closer operational engagement with the Indian military.
The sources said Mr Panetta is likely to start fresh discussions on the three pending basic defence agreements namely-the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA), Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-Spatial Cooperation (BECA). Both the sides have already signed the end user agreement some time ago, under which US may carry out verification of its weapon systems supplied to India.
Mr Panetta is most likely to try narrow some sharp differences between the two nations on the several issues, including the US military aid to Pakistan, cooperation with Iran and nuclear disarmament, during his parleys with Indian interlocutors.
India's defence trade with the US is increasingly on the rise and New Delhi has signed more than 20 deals worth over 10 billion dollars in the past one decade. These include amphibious transport ship INS Jalashwa, UH-3H helicopter, C-130J transport aircraft, P-8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft , Harpoon Block-II anti-ship missiles and C-17 Globemaster airlift aircraft.
The government has recently cleared procurement of 145 ultra-light howitzers worth 647 million dollars for deployment on the China border, while negotiations are said to be in the final stage for acquiring six more C-130J, four more P-8I aircraft, Javelin anti-tank guided missiles, Jaguar aircraft engine upgrades and AH-64D attack helicopters. UNI MK SA 0915 NNNN Published by HT Syndication with permission from United News of India.
Panetta to push for India-US strategic embrace ** - Avionics Intelligence
June 3, 2012
By Mukesh Kaushik New Delhi, June 3 -- To give a big push to rapid transformation of the US-India defence relationship into a strategic partnership, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta is coming to New Delhi on a two-day visit beginning Wednesday.
Official sources said he is likely to push for finalising some of the key defence agreements which are pending between the two nations for a long time.
Significantly, Mr Panetta's visit to India, his first as defence secretary, comes just a week before the India-US strategic dialogue slated to be held in Washington.
The sources said Mr Panetta will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Defence Minister AK Antony and National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon during his visit.
In an apparent bid to build up trust, the US has recently removed laboratories of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from the entity list, thereby allowing the DRDO to freely procure sensitive technologies from Washington.
It is learnt that in a run up to Mr Panetta's visit, a defence policy group met in Delhi in which the US defence secretary's close aide and Pentagon's chief policy maker Jim Miller is understood to have proposed closer operational engagement with the Indian military.
The sources said Mr Panetta is likely to start fresh discussions on the three pending basic defence agreements namely-the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA), Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-Spatial Cooperation (BECA). Both the sides have already signed the end user agreement some time ago, under which US may carry out verification of its weapon systems supplied to India.
Mr Panetta is most likely to try narrow some sharp differences between the two nations on the several issues, including the US military aid to Pakistan, cooperation with Iran and nuclear disarmament, during his parleys with Indian interlocutors.
India's defence trade with the US is increasingly on the rise and New Delhi has signed more than 20 deals worth over 10 billion dollars in the past one decade. These include amphibious transport ship INS Jalashwa, UH-3H helicopter, C-130J transport aircraft, P-8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft , Harpoon Block-II anti-ship missiles and C-17 Globemaster airlift aircraft.
The government has recently cleared procurement of 145 ultra-light howitzers worth 647 million dollars for deployment on the China border, while negotiations are said to be in the final stage for acquiring six more C-130J, four more P-8I aircraft, Javelin anti-tank guided missiles, Jaguar aircraft engine upgrades and AH-64D attack helicopters. UNI MK SA 0915 NNNN Published by HT Syndication with permission from United News of India.
Panetta to push for India-US strategic embrace ** - Avionics Intelligence
