By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony began a round of intensive talks Tuesday with top US officials starting with his counterpart, Robert Gates as the two nations build their strategic ties.
Although pre-scheduled, the visit has been invested with added significance coming as it does just two days after the US played a key role in winning India a waiver from the Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) to pave the way for the India-US nuclear deal.
The defence minister met Gates after a full ceremonial honour at the Pentagon Tuesday. He is believed to have discussed “important bilateral issues relating to defence” with Gates, who visited India in February.
Antony is leading a high-powered delegation including Defence Secretary Vijay Singh and three senior officers from the army, navy and air force. The last time an Indian defence minister visited the US was in June 2005 when Pranab Mukherjee held the portfolio.
Antony rounds off the first high-level visit from India since the waiver Wednesday after meetings with Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and President George W. Bush’s National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley. “It is expected that the discussions will include the regional security scenario and matters of mutual concern,” officials said.
Earlier in the day, Antony lauded the Indian American community for their sustained activism and lobbying for the India nuclear deal, which he said was catalytic in helping to fructify it.
“You played a major role in shaping public opinion in India and the US,” Antony said at a reception organised by the Indian American community of the Washington metropolitan area, at the Indian embassy.
“I am not flattering you. But your focused, steadfast support helped us clinch this deal, and for this I express my gratitude,” he added.
Anthony praised the Indian-American community for “doing a lot of things, more than the people of India, to present a better image of India throughout the world, especially in the US.”
The Defence Minister referred to the slew of agreements between the US and India since the 2005 visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh which would help alleviate the lot “of the common people in India and help in the economic development of India.”
Antony’s visit comes at a time when three important Indo-US pacts are close to be finalised. Under one of the pacts, the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA), the Indian and US militaries can refuel ships and aircraft in cashless transactions that are balanced at the end of the year.
The other two pacts are the Communication Inter-operability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) that will enable the two militaries communicate on a common platform, and an end-user agreement governing the sale of US military hardware to India.
These pacts have been on the backburner for long due to the objections of the Left parties. With the United Progressive Alliance no longer dependent on the communists after winning a trust vote in parliament, the way is now clear for inking the agreements.
The growing US-India military ties are reflected in joint naval exercises like Operation Malabar and air exercises like the recent Red Flag workout at the Nellis Air Force Base.
The Indian Navy’s “strategic sealift capability” too got a big boost with the induction of the huge 16,900-tonne amphibious transport warship INS Jalashwa, earlier known as the USS Trenton, acquired from the US in 2007.
The 173-metre-long INS Jalashwa, the second largest Indian warship after the 28,000-tonne aircraft carrier INS Viraat, can transport four landing craft, six helicopters and a battalion of 900-1,000 fully-armed soldiers over long distances.