By IANS
New Delhi : Holding that the future for India-US ties "is wide open with possibilities", American envoy David Mulford said Tuesday the visit of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz to Chennai was "confirmation that a new era in our defence relationship has arrived".
"The presence in Chennai of the Nimitz is indeed confirmation that a new era in our defense relationship has arrived," Mulford said in a statement.
"The Nimitz brings a new era in US-India military-to-military relations. This ship's visit, the first ever port call in India by an American aircraft carrier, is the latest example of the positive development of our defence relationship," he added.
According to Mulford, there had been a "sea change" in India-US ties, in spite of the adverse "weather" during the Nimitz visit – a reference to the protests by India's Left parties and Tamil Nadu's opposition AIDAMK to the ship's presence.
"We have seen a sea change in our relationship. While there will be days, such as we've seen with the weather during this visit, when we will have to work together to deal with the challenges posed to us, I fully believe the future is wide open with possibilities for our two great countries to achieve even more together," he stated.
India and the US had already conducted military operations together, such as with tsunami relief, the evacuation last year of Lebanon, and anti-piracy coordination, the envoy noted.
"Our militaries also have participated in greater numbers and more sophisticated exercises, such as in the Malabar series of drills, which have evolved to include other partners, such as Canada and Japan," Mulford added.
"This is a new era of defence cooperation," he maintained, adding that last year, India had purchased the troop carrier USS Trenton – now renamed INS Jalashwa.
"She was commissioned just two weeks ago, becoming India's second largest naval ship. The work we've done together to prepare the Jalashwa for delivery to India has demonstrated American reliability in major defence transactions, setting what we all hope will be a growing defence relationship.
"At the moment, we are discussing the possible sale to India of C-130 aircraft, the celebrated workhorse of multi-role lift airplanes with the longest continuous production run of any military aircraft," the ambassador added.
According to Mulford, India was discovering, "as many other countries around the world already know, that buying from today's American military and defence companies is not just an exchange of money for goods, but rather the invitation to a long-term partnership of support for the product throughout its life cycle.
"Our firms want to be long-term partners with India, and are looking forward to the benefits of joint technology development and co-production with Indian counterparts," he added.
Proof of this was evident at the Aero India show in Bangalore in February where the US had its largest representation ever, both in terms of planes and number of companies.
"The most exciting part of that show was watching the impressive F-16 and F-18 demonstration flights, both of which will be major competitors for the multi-role combat aircraft bid approved last Friday by the Indian government," Mulford said.
He said the US would also work together with India in peacekeeping, an area in which this country is a global leader.
"Our collaboration, which the United States runs out of President Bush's Global Peacekeeping Operations Initiative, will help build crucial capacity for addressing leadership needs for peacekeepers around the world," the ambassador said.
He thanked the people of Chennai, the Indian Navy, the Tamil Nadu government, and the Chennai Port Trust for giving the Nimitz, its accompanying ship USS Pinckney and their crews a "warm welcome".
"During my July 2 visit, I saw first-hand that many people had gone to great lengths to make this port call safe, informative, and enjoyable, and we are grateful for their efforts.
"Very few of the sailors have ever been to India before, and they were delighted to have this opportunity to meet the people, sample the food, and learn about the culture of south India," Mulford added.