US, India strengthen defence ties

The United States and India have signed an agreement governing the use of each other's land, air and naval bases for repair and resupply, a step toward building defence ties as they seek to counter the growing maritime assertiveness of China.

Ash Carter
Ash Carter

Monday's agreement, a relatively mundane one concerning day-to-day military logistics, is nonetheless a milestone in the US-India defence relationship because of the outsized political importance it had taken on in India, where it had touched on domestic sensitivities, experts say.

The signing of the agreement will "make the logistics of joint operations so much easier and so much more efficient," US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in a news briefing with Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.

The agreement will allow the Indian and US navies to have an easier time supporting each other in joint operations and exercises and when providing humanitarian assistance, Parrikar said.

Washington's desire for deeper security cooperation with India had been complicated without the signing of the logistics agreement as well as two other pacts that would allow for secure communications and the exchange of nautical and other data. The agreements are considered routine between the US and its other defence partners.

But India has had concerns such an agreement would commit it to hosting US troops at its bases, or draw it into a military alliance with the United States and undermine its traditional autonomy. Carter and Parrikar reached an agreement "in principle" in April, but had yet to finalise the details.

Carter has made closer military ties with India a priority, and established a special unit within the Pentagon last year to promote cooperation with that country. Parrikar's visit to Washington this week marks the sixth interaction between the two top defence officials.

Both Carter and Parrikar went to pains on Monday to make clear that the logistics agreement did not allow for basing of US. troops in India.

The US military has made clear it wants to do more with India, especially in countering China, which American officials say is risking stoking conflict through its claims in the South China Sea, a vital trade waterway.

Without naming China, both Carter and Parrikar mentioned the importance of the free flow of trade to both countries.

 

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