10 February 2003
Joint Military Exercise Called Example of New U.S-India Ties
(Bush, Vajpayee are at the forefront in building a strong partnership,
says U.S. official) (1410)
The U.S.-Indian relationship has undergone a powerful transformation
in the past two years under the leadership of President Bush and Prime
Minister Vajpayee, said U.S. Ambassador to India Robert Blackwill
February 10 at the United Service Institution of India in New Delhi,
India.
Addressing military generals and participants of the peacekeeping
operations, Blackwill said that the latest joint military exercise,
Shanti Path 03, "is yet another powerful example of the transformation
of the US-India relationship since January 2001."
Shanti Path, said the ambassador, is the seventh joint U.S.-Indian
military exercise to be carried out in the past two years, and it "is
the first exercise of its kind that India has hosted." Blackwell said
Shanti Path "is different from the previous six because Americans and
Indians will be functioning with military personnel, staff officers
and civilian police from at least eleven other nations."
According to the ambassador, the United States and India are "building
a close relationship in all fields of bilateral interaction, including
diplomatic collaboration, counter terrorism, counter proliferation,
defense and military-to-military teamwork, intelligence exchange, and
law enforcement."
"I am gratified that bilateral military and security cooperation has
spearheaded the fundamental redefinition of U.S.-India bonds. This
collaboration between the American and Indian armed forces builds
enhanced military capacities on both sides. Exercises, such as Shanti
Path 03, reciprocal visits, and bilateral exchanges are key building
blocks for future US-India interoperability," said Blackwell.
Blackwell attributed the transformation of U.S.-Indian ties to the
recently issued White House report, the National Security Strategy of
the United States. Quoting a passage in the document pertaining to
India, he said:
"...The United States has undertaken a transformation in its bilateral
relationship with India based on a conviction that US interests
require a strong relationship with India. We are the two largest
democracies, committed to political freedom protected by
representative government. India is moving toward greater economic
freedom as well. We have a common interest in the free flow of
commerce, including through the vital sea-lanes of the Indian Ocean.
Finally, we share an interest in fighting terrorism and in creating a
strategically stable Asia we start with a view of India as a growing
world power with which we have common strategic interests."
The ambassador concluded that the U.S. and Indian military partnership
demonstrates the commitment of the two countries "to act together as
equals on global issues -- to make the world more peaceful, more
prosperous, and more free."
Following is text of remarks of Ambassador Blackwill at the United
Service Institution of India in New Delhi, India February 10:
(begin text)
Opening Remarks Shanti Path 03
Robert D. Blackwill, Ambassador to India
Remarks to the United Service Institution of India
New Delhi, India
February 10, 2003
INTRODUCTION
General Nambiar, General Singh, Participants in Shanti Path 03,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Exercise Shanti Path 03 will be the seventh military exercise that the
United States and India have undertaken together in the past two
years. It is yet another powerful example of the transformation of the
US-India relationship since January 2001 led by President Bush and
Prime Minister Vajpayee. Someone once said that, "It is the business
of the statesman to provide a decent burial for the past and to
facilitate the birth of the future." That is exactly what the
President and the Prime Minister have done with respect to US-India
ties. Shanti Path is different from the previous six because Americans
and Indians will be functioning with military personnel, staff
officers and civilian police from at least eleven other nations. You
all understand better than most how important practicing peacekeeping
is and the wisdom of the French proverb, "It is late to be digging a
well when feeling thirsty." In this sense, you will be digging wells
for the next two weeks for a time when you may be asked to provide the
international community with water.
The first peacekeeping operations command post exercise was held in
Hawaii eighteen months ago. India, like many of the other nations
represented here, was a contributor to that endeavor. This, however,
is the first exercise of its kind that India has hosted, and that too
speaks volumes about the extraordinary change that has taken place in
US-India relations over the past two years.
THE TRANSFORMATION OF US-INDIA RELATIONS
A guiding document in US-India transformation is the recently issued
National Security Strategy of the United States, a report that bears
the personal stamp of President Bush. Let me quote a passage on India:
"...The United States has undertaken a transformation in its bilateral
relationship with India based on a conviction that US interests
require a strong relationship with India. We are the two largest
democracies, committed to political freedom protected by
representative government. India is moving toward greater economic
freedom as well. We have a common interest in the free flow of
commerce, including through the vital sea-lanes of the Indian Ocean.
Finally, we share an interest in fighting terrorism and in creating a
strategically stable Asia we start with a view of India as a growing
world power with which we have common strategic interests."
President Bush and Prime Minister Vajpayee, recognizing and acting
upon this strategic vision, have given historic impulse to our efforts
at building a close relationship in all fields of bilateral
interaction, including diplomatic collaboration, counter terrorism,
counter proliferation, defense and military-to-military teamwork,
intelligence exchange, and law enforcement.
In my view, these supportive relations between America and India will
endure over the long run most importantly because of the convergence
of their democratic values and vital national interests. Indian and
American democratic principles-a common respect for individual
freedom, the rule of law, the importance of civil society, and
peaceful state-to-state relations-bind us and our overlapping vital
national interests-promoting peace and freedom in Asia, combating
international terrorism, and slowing the spread of weapons of mass
destruction (WMD)-give concrete purpose to our military-to-military
relationship.
Indeed, I am confident that historians will look back and regard the
transformation of US-India relations as one of the most important
strategic developments of the first decade of this new century.
I am gratified that bilateral military and security cooperation has
spearheaded the fundamental redefinition of US-India bonds. This
collaboration between the American and Indian armed forces builds
enhanced military capacities on both sides. Exercises, such as Shanti
Path 03, reciprocal visits, and bilateral exchanges are key building
blocks for future US-India interoperability.
Peacekeeping will continue to be an important mission for many
militaries in the foreseeable future. Multilateral training will
assist all in understanding the problems that arise when national
armed forces with different histories, professional cultures and
procedures operate together.
It is precisely the Indian Army's skill in multilateral teamwork that
makes it the perfect co-host for this effort. Few countries have a
more varied familiarity with peacekeeping than India, and its record
of international service has provided the Indian military with crucial
know-how that should help make this exercise a resounding success. One
of my former Harvard colleagues, an economist, was meant to have once
asked, "I know it works in practice - but does it work in theory?"
With respect to peacekeeping, the Indian military knows what works in
theory -- and what works in practice. Or as Aldous Huxley put it,
"Experience is not what happens to you. It is what you do with what
happens to you." I am sure that this extensive Indian peacekeeping
experience will be of great assistance to every visitor in this room.
At the same time, the partnership of the US and Indian military
establishments in developing and executing this event further
demonstrates our resolve to act together as equals on global issues --
to make the world more peaceful, more prosperous, and more free.
CONCLUSION
No single area of US-India cooperation highlights the transformed
bilateral relationship more than our defense cooperation, which
certainly has a vital present and an even brighter future.
I am especially delighted to be with you here today, and I wish you
the very best in your cooperative activities during the next two
weeks.
Thank you.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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