Should US have access to weapons it sold to India?

Bangalore: Should India allow unfettered access to US to regularly inspect all Americanorigin weapon systems and platforms it buys? Or, should India use its huge lucrative defence market to armtwist US into agreeing to its own terms and conditions?

Should India, for instance, allow US inspectors to periodically check the three high-tech VVIP Business Boeing Jets, armed with self-protection suites to guard against missiles and other threats, recently acquired by IAF to ferry around the PM? With the US desperate to dislodge countries like Russia , Israel, France and UK to emerge as the largest arms supplier to India, New Delhi and Washington are moving towards signing two crucial defence pacts to smoothen the procurement process currently facing such roadblocks.

But the differences still remain entangled on the negotiating table, despite India last month inking the biggest-ever defence deal with US in the shape of the $2.1 billion contract between the Indian defence ministry and Boeing for eight P-8 I long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft.

As reported earlier by TOI, US wants India to ink its pacts like End-Use Monitoring Agreement (EUMA) and Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum Agreement (CISMOA), which basically govern sensitive technology control requirements to ������ minimize��� ��� security risks to US and its allies, as required under its domestic laws.

������ We are working very closely with India to resolve EUMA... When defence minister A K Antony met secretary of defense Robert Gates last year, I was present at the meeting . My feeling was that we are very close,������ said US Defence Security Cooperation Agency chief Vice-Admiral Jeffrey A Wieringa on Monday.India���s main objection to EUMA and its ������ enhanced version��� ��� relates to ������ onsite verification��� ��� by American inspectors. ������ India has an exemplary non-proliferation record. We do not mind laws to govern sensitive technology transfers but they must not be intrusive in nature,������ said a defence ministry official.

BATTLE FOR SUPREMACY: US is desperate to dislodge countries like Russia, Israel and UK to emerge as the largest arms supplier to India