Defence buys from US to have strings attached

NEW DELHI: Increasing defence co-operation may be the next big thing for Indo-US ties after the civilian nuclear deal but a top US official has said that India will have to accept ���certain conditionalities��� to purchase defence equipment from the US.

Without going into details, Admiral Timothy Keating, commander of the US Pacific Joint Command, said that there were conditionalities that India would need to fulfil before buying equipment from the US military.
���They (India) would have to agree certain conditions that we think are very important,��� he was quoted as saying in an interaction with foreign correspondents.

Admiral Keating further said that these issues were being dealt with by the US state department which is in negotiations with India on the issue of purchase of defence equipment. He, however, refused to elaborate on the conditionalities.

The top US official also tried to dismiss any notion that the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement would have any direct impact on the military relationship. ���...not directly. I do not think it is quid pro one for one. There are second or third order effect to this signal event - the nuclear deal.���

At the same time, Admiral Keating also expressed hope that the 126 fighter jet contract, which is worth $10 billion, would be won by the US. ���They want to replace their ageing fighters. The United States has two fighters in the programme, but the decision has not been made yet.

We are cautiously hopeful.��� India has floated a tender for the purchase of the fighters and six companies are competing for the Indian Air Force order. But Admiral Keating said that the military relationship between the two countries had grown under the Bush administration.

���We have got a very strong relationship with the Indian military.��� ���The spirit of co-operation, the degree of mutual engagement opportunities, the exchange of personnel, participation of military exercises is significantly better today from our perspective than it was eight years ago. I am assured that the Indian leaders feel the same way,��� he said.

Indo-US military ties have been deepening with an increase in the frequency of joint military exercises between the armed forces of the two countries. Similarly, many defence deals are also on the anvil.

Admiral Keating is expected to visit India in the coming months. He will be meeting Indian Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta in Indonesia next week on the sidelines of the annual chief of the defence conference.