India has expressed concern over the U.S. decision to sell eight F-16s to Pakistan, with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar conveying the government’s concerns to Carter, who is presently visiting India.
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It was termed along with two other agreements as “foundation agreements”.U.S. military support for the defeat of the Islamic State in Mosul continues with the goal of “accelerating the military campaign as fast as we can”, Carter said.The US’ Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) and India’s Make in India programme have a lot in common.
While India has not yet decided which aircraft will be used on the new aircraft carrier, a senior USA defense official said a jet like the F-18, which uses catapult technology to take off, “would be very attractive”.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, during a visit to Baghdad last Friday pledged $155 million in new U.S. aid to Iraq and offered a show of political support to Iraq’s beleaguered Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. “The UPA government resisted it for 10 years”, he said.
“The US is quite clearly becoming the principal partner for (military) hardware and also for the armed forces exercises”, said former Indian foreign secretary Lalit Mansingh.
India has had concerns that a logistics agreement would commit it to hosting USA troops at its bases, or draw it into a military alliance with the United States and undermine its traditional autonomy.
According to American defence officials, if India begins using the catapult technology, then there could be opportunities for the country to buy US-made FA-18 fighter jets or other aircraft that use the launching system.
India’s Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today said that defence cooperation was a central pillar of India’s multi-faceted relationship with the US.
Carter shared with Modi his views on the military-to-military ties between the two countries and his optimism regarding expanded cooperation in the future, he said.
During their meeting, Parrikar and Carter discussed the priorities for the coming year in defense ties. They announced a new maritime security dialogue and commencement of navy-to-navy discussions on submarine safety and anti-submarine warfare. “We have no intention in conflict between India and Pakistan in anyway”. “It should immediately retract from signing the Logistics Agreement”, it added.
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Carter said the two relationships are separate, and the US has no interest in seeing any conflict between India and Pakistan. “When movements are completed, 60 per cent of the US fleet will be in the Pacific-Indian Ocean area”, the US Department of Defense said in a statement on Monday.
