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Indo-US Defense Policy Group meeting to reassess military ties begins

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

New Delhi, June 1, IRNA -- The three-day Indo-US Defense Policy Group 
(DPG) meeting began here Tuesday to discuss the entire gamut of 
bilateral relations including strategic issues, joint exercises, 
training and acquisition. 
Informed sources in India`s Ministry of Defense told IRNA that 
during the talks the new Indian government will indicate the shape of 
its international military policy during a high-level interaction 
with a delegation from the Pentagon, the American defense 
headquarters, at the Ministry of Defense in South Bloc, New Delhi. 
The meeting of the Indo-US Defense Policy Group co-chaired by 
Defense Secretary Ajay Prasad and US Undersecretary for Defense 
Policy Douglas Feith will reassess the entire gamut of Indo-US 
military ties. These include the increasing involvement of 
Indian defense planners in the controversial American missile 
defense program and inking a second major armament deal with the 
US. 
Also at stake is the continuing program of acquainting the 
American forces with the techniques of the Indian armed forces and the
topography of areas such as Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir and the North-
East that were earlier out of bounds for foreign troops. 
Indo-US troops have so far conducted over half a dozen combined 
exercises, mostly in India. Combined naval exercises have taken place 
annually off the Indian western coast and American fighter planes 
arrived here last year to hold joint military exercises with their 
Indian counterparts in the Indian skies. Indian troops have 
occasionally practised on American soil. 
The two sides recently signed a mutual secrecy protection 
agreement, a mandatory requirement before exchanging information 
about each other`s prowess in various areas of defense-related 
research. 
Publicly revealed by the US side a month after the agreement was 
signed, the interaction in New Delhi between top defense research 
scientists identified five areas where close cooperation could take 
place. The forthcoming meeting is likely to touch on this aspect. 
The DPG meeting takes place weeks after officials met under the 
aegis of the Security Cooperation Group to discuss the sale of 
American military equipment. 
The previous Vajpayee government had concluded the largest-ever 
military deal with the US for the purchase of refurbished 
artillery-locating radars. 
The defense ministry is now preparing to strike a second 
multi-million dollar deal for the acquisition of second-hand planes 
with the ability to detect submarines. 
The chief of naval staff had expressed the need to add to the 
depleted and aging fleet of Russian maritime reconnaissance planes. 
It appears that after weighing the option of modernizing the 
existing fleet, the defense establishment is in favor of purchasing 
the American planes provided the final price is mutually acceptable. 
"Both sides will be watching each other closely," said a senior 
source. 
In the wake of the controversy over the alleged defection of a 
middle-ranking Indian officer of the Research and Analysis Wing and 
the change in government at the Centre, armed forces personnel and 
analysts have started voicing their disquiet over the close ties 
being fostered between the Indian and Western armed forces. 
On the other hand, India has voiced concerns after the US 
accorded Pakistan the "non-NATO ally" status. 
The future course of Indian participation in the American missile 
defende research will also be indicated by the DPG. 
A closed-door Indo-US workshop on the subject was held recently 
at Hyderabad, and India has been invited to attend a US-led 
multilateral seminar in July and observe American modules of this 
concept at Roving Sands in 2005. 
With a large number of military-level issues waiting to be 
amplified, it remains to be seen whether the DPG will chisel and 
harmonize defense cooperation between the two countries or provide 
it an altogether different direction. 
Meanwhile, United States Secretary of State Colin Powell has said 
that New Delhi and Washington wished to build on the solid foundation 
that has been developed in recent years. 
In an interview with India`s NDTV news channel last Saturday, 
Gen. Powell said that India and the US, as two great democracies, 
"should be natural allies and we are." 
Referring to the conversation US President George W. Bush had 
with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his own talks with External 
Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh, Powell said: "Clearly, we wish to 
build on the solid foundation that has been developed in recent years 
and we are pleased that our agenda will move forward." 
Touching on the strategic partnership and cooperation in other 
areas, he said: "I am quite confident that the relationship will 
continue to grow." 
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