India might lose patience with repeat terror attack: US
India vital strategic partner fighting threat in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
By Agencies |
NEW DELHI: Despite the great "restraint" shown by India after the Mumbai attacks by Pakistan-based militants, New Delhi could easily lose patience if there were a repeat attack, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Wednesday.
"I think it's not unreasonable to assume Indian patience would be limited were there to be further attacks," Gates told reporters on a trip to New Delhi. Gates described India as a vital strategic partner fighting the threat posed by Islamist militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The 2008 attacks on Mumbai, which left 166 dead and which India has blamed on the Pakistan-based Islamist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, underlined the importance of maritime security, he said. "The attack in Mumbai came from the sea. So there's a definite need to track the movement of people who want to do harm to us out there," the official said.
In separate meetings with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna on Tuesday, Gates discussed "regional security" and offered reassurances over the target date of July 2011 for starting a drawdown of American forces, a US defence official said.
Gates, mindful of India's concerns about an early US exit, pledged the United States would remain committed to Kabul with major economic and diplomatic support even as its military presence is gradually scaled back after mid-2011, the official told reporters.
He told PM and Krishna that "we intend to be involved in the region for a very long time," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The visit of Gates signifies the first high-level talks between the two countries after Manmohan Singh's visit to the US last November.
His visit comes at a time when India-US relations are at their best in decades.
"I think it's not unreasonable to assume Indian patience would be limited were there to be further attacks," Gates told reporters on a trip to New Delhi. Gates described India as a vital strategic partner fighting the threat posed by Islamist militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The 2008 attacks on Mumbai, which left 166 dead and which India has blamed on the Pakistan-based Islamist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, underlined the importance of maritime security, he said. "The attack in Mumbai came from the sea. So there's a definite need to track the movement of people who want to do harm to us out there," the official said.
In separate meetings with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna on Tuesday, Gates discussed "regional security" and offered reassurances over the target date of July 2011 for starting a drawdown of American forces, a US defence official said.
Gates, mindful of India's concerns about an early US exit, pledged the United States would remain committed to Kabul with major economic and diplomatic support even as its military presence is gradually scaled back after mid-2011, the official told reporters.
He told PM and Krishna that "we intend to be involved in the region for a very long time," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
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The visit of Gates signifies the first high-level talks between the two countries after Manmohan Singh's visit to the US last November.
His visit comes at a time when India-US relations are at their best in decades.
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