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Gates meets with resistance during Indian visit
Rahul Bedi JDW Correspondent - New Delhi
United States Defense Secretary Robert Gates struggled to make headway during a two-day visit to India, which ended on 27 February.
Aiming to strengthen bilateral military ties and promote US bids for lucrative defence contracts, Gates met with particular resistance on the issue of the long-delayed logistics support agreement (LSA). This would facilitate reciprocal use of facilities for maintenance, servicing, refuelling, communications and medical care.
India's Defence Minister A K Antony told Gates that the deal needed closer examination.
India's hesitancy in signing the LSA - also known as the Access and Cross-servicing Agreement - stems from strong opposition from Communist MPs, whose support is crucial to the survival of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's ruling coalition.
Gates, whose large delegation comprised representatives from leading US defence corporations, also raised the possibility of establishing a joint missile defence system with India as part of evolving bilateral strategic ties.
"We're just beginning to talk about perhaps conducting a joint analysis about what India's needs would be in the realm of missile defence and where co-operation between us might help advance that," he said. However, he stressed that talks on such collaboration were at an early stage.
Military officials in Delhi said joint missile development plans between India and the US would complicate relations with China, Pakistan and Russia: the latter being India's largest supplier of military hardware.
India is also hesitant about entering into a joint missile defence shield programme with Washington as it is avidly pursuing one of its own and has recently conducted a series of developmental tests.
Rahul Bedi JDW Correspondent - New Delhi
United States Defense Secretary Robert Gates struggled to make headway during a two-day visit to India, which ended on 27 February.
Aiming to strengthen bilateral military ties and promote US bids for lucrative defence contracts, Gates met with particular resistance on the issue of the long-delayed logistics support agreement (LSA). This would facilitate reciprocal use of facilities for maintenance, servicing, refuelling, communications and medical care.
India's Defence Minister A K Antony told Gates that the deal needed closer examination.
India's hesitancy in signing the LSA - also known as the Access and Cross-servicing Agreement - stems from strong opposition from Communist MPs, whose support is crucial to the survival of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's ruling coalition.
Gates, whose large delegation comprised representatives from leading US defence corporations, also raised the possibility of establishing a joint missile defence system with India as part of evolving bilateral strategic ties.
"We're just beginning to talk about perhaps conducting a joint analysis about what India's needs would be in the realm of missile defence and where co-operation between us might help advance that," he said. However, he stressed that talks on such collaboration were at an early stage.
Military officials in Delhi said joint missile development plans between India and the US would complicate relations with China, Pakistan and Russia: the latter being India's largest supplier of military hardware.
India is also hesitant about entering into a joint missile defence shield programme with Washington as it is avidly pursuing one of its own and has recently conducted a series of developmental tests.
