The Hindu : India, U.S. share vital national interests: Blackwill

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 11, 2002

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India, U.S. share vital national interests: Blackwill

By Amit Baruah

NEW DELHI DEC. 10. The promotion of peace and freedom in Asia, combating international terrorism and slowing the spread of weapons of mass destruction are three "big" overlapping vital national interests shared by India and the United States.

Speaking on Indo-U.S. relations in Kolkata on November 27, the U.S. Ambassador to India, Robert Blackwill, stressed that close and cooperative relations between the two countries would endure over the long run because of convergence in democratic values and national interests.

Stating that Asia was poised to become the new ''strategic centre of gravity'' in international politics, Mr. Blackwill said both India and the U.S. would benefit from an Asian environment free from inter-State conflict, including among the region's great powers.

The Ambassador quoted the U.S. President, George W. Bush, as saying: "We seek a peaceful region where no power, or coalition of powers, endangers the security or freedom of other nations; where military force is not used to resolve political disputes".

"Achieving this objective requires the United States to particularly strengthen political, economic and military-to-military relations with those Asian States that share our democratic values and national interests. That spells India..." he said.

Mr. Blackwill said the most pressing danger was international terrorism. "These newer terrorist organisations, which attract recruits by perverting great religious traditions, embody a lethal threat to both India and the United States. Their worldview propels them to conduct deadly attacks to inflict mass, indiscriminate casualties among innocents..."

The two countries must work together to curtail the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them.

He maintained that India and the U.S. were also interested in advancing stability in Afghanistan — a stable, free and peaceful Afghanistan — one with a representative central government that can provide physical and economic security for its people. "We want an Afghanistan that has good relations with all its neighbours and with the international community and one that will never again export terrorism," he said.

"While we place emphasis on economic reconstruction and help build national institutions such as the Afghan National Army, the U.S. and India agree that the hunt for the remaining Al-Qaeda and Taliban elements must continue vigorously until they are brought to justice," he felt.

On defence policy, Mr. Blackwill revealed that Indian naval ships — Sukanya and Sharda — conducted escort patrols for U.S. ships through the Malacca Straits in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. "With American warships now routinely refuelling in Chennai and Mumbai, we saw in September and October the largest-ever U.S.-India naval exercise, called Malabar...''

The Office of Net Assessment, the Pentagon's key think-tank, conducted its first seminar in India with counterparts in the Integrated Defence Staff, he said, pointing to growing defence cooperation between the two countries. The U.S. and Indian defence intelligence agencies had instituted a formal relationship, the Indian and American Army Training and Doctrine Commands had begun a formal exchange on doctrinal matters and Indian experts participated in a missile defence simulation in Colorado in June.

"While exercises, visits and exchanges are key to building joint military capacities for future interoperability, India also naturally views defence sales as a way to gauge the potential for substantive future bilateral military cooperation...there have been a number of breakthroughs on defence sales that have put the United States and India on the road to a stable, long-term defence supply relationship."

Mr. Blackwill revealed that the Bush administration had worked with Congress to amend the law requiring congressional notification of all application for export to India of items on the U.S. munitions list. "Since October 24, 2002, only those major defence equipment items above $14 million now require congressional notification.

This change puts India in a category with American treaty allies such as South Korea and Japan."

India is leasing several additional U.S. fire-finding/weapon locating radars, in addition to those already contracted for purchase. "The Pentagon is expeditiously processing the Indian Army's request for significant Special Forces equipment and border sensors; and the Bush administration approved the sale of General Electric engines and advanced avionics for India's indigenous Light Combat Aircraft," he said.

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