By IANS,
New Delhi: The end-use monitoring pact with the US “does not compromise our sovereignty” and will not allow American inspectors to visit Indian military installations, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh maintained Wednesday.
“You can be assured that our government has taken all precautions to ensure an outcome to guarantee (our) national security and interests. Nothing comprises our sovereignty,” Manmohan Singh said in the Lok Sabha while replying to a debate on the government’s recent foreign policy initiatives.
During the visit of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, India and US had come to an understanding on the text of a end-use monitoring clause that will be added to future contracts for the purchase of American defence hardware.
“I agree that the general formulation now introduces predictability,” said Singh, pointing out that earlier such clauses were incorporated “case by case”.
He explained that the “generic formulation” has “no provision for unilateral action in regard of inspection”.
Manmohan Singh added that that India will have the “sovereign right” to jointly hold consultations for any inspection.
“Any verification has to follow a request which will have to be at a mutually acceptable date and mutually acceptable venue. There is no provision for on-site inspection at any military installations,” he asserted.
The prime minister said India’s defence forces needed access to all technologies and therefore, there was need to diversify India’s sources of defence hardware.
The US had insisted on the end-use monitoring pact as this is a compulsory requirement according to its laws when selling defence items to a foreign country.