EUVA (end user verification agreement) with the US

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New pact puts US-India military ties under spotlight -- china.org.cn

Monday's signing of a new US-India defense pact in New Deli is hailed in Washington by some as one concrete achievement of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's trip to India.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) smiles next to India's Foreign Minister Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna during the signing of agreements ceremony in New Delhi July 20, 2009. The United States and India said on Monday they had agreed on a defence pact that takes a major step towards allowing the sale of sophisticated US arms to the South Asian nation as it modernises its military. [Xinhua]


The Christian Science Monitor called it a "tangible accomplishment".

Meanwhile, the deal once again put the growing Washington-New Deli defense relationship under spotlight, observers said.

The agreement, inked by Clinton and Indian Minister of External Affairs S. M. Krishna, will set terms for US officials to monitor India's weapons usage and allow the US to sell sophisticated military technology to India, including fighter jets.

Under the terms of the deal, the US would be allowed to conduct "end-use monitoring", meaning it would conduct regular assessments of India's military policies to verify that weapons systems are being used for their intended purposes.

Such an agreement is required by US law before American companies can legally sell weapons systems to any foreign nation.

In other words, it will turn on the greenlight for US defense giants such as Lockheed Martin and Boeing, to sell advanced and sophisticated weaponry to India.

"The agreement will boost India's ability to defend itself through the acquisition of US defense equipment while promoting American high tech exports," the US State Department said of the deal in a statement.

Clinton also signed agreements with India on science, technology, space and nuclear sites.

Strategic cooperation

During Clinton's visit, the US and Indian governments set the tone for a Strategic Dialogue that will focus on five principal pillars.

According to US officials, the first and foremost pillar is the strategic cooperation, which includes military, nonproliferation and counterterrorism cooperation.

In fact, since the end of Cold War, the US- India defense ties have been growing continuously, becoming a prominent feature of in the development of two-way relations.

During the Cold-war years, the United States formed a military alliance with Pakistan, India's rival in the region, while India received lots of military assistance from then Soviet Union, top US enemy at the time.

But the United States soon found a new interest in developing military ties with India once the Cold War ended.

In 1995, then USSecretary of Defense William Perry visited India and signed a pact with India to start defense cooperation.

However, India's nuclear tests in 1998 angered the Clinton administration, who imposed sanctions on New Deli.

But that is only a very brief episode and in 2000 then US President Bill Clinton paid a "historical visit" to India and formally announced the US-India partnership. The bilateral military ties not only recovered after that, but also flourished to a higher level.

The Bush administration further elevated the importance of the US-India ties in strategic and security context, regarding India as an emerging power with "global status".

When George W. Bush announced his new missile defense plan in May 2001, many in the international community opposed it.

However, the Indian government expressed its support for the plan.

After 9/11 terror attacks, India actively supported Bush's war-on-terror and offered military cooperation.

New era of military ties

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L, Front) meets with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh(R, Front) in New Delhi, capital of India, on July 20, 2009. [Stringer/Xinhua]


More importantly, in July 2005, the two countries decided to upgrade their relationship to "global partnership", and thus ushered in a new era of bilateral military cooperation.

The recent years have witnessed frequent exchanges of high-level military leaders between Washington and New Deli.

Since 2007, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen and other top US generals paid respective visits to New Deli. The two-way military cooperation has been institutionalized and various levels of dialogue mechanisms have been set up.

The two militaries signed a defense cooperation framework in 2005 and the talks for global logistics cooperation are underway.

Joint exercises between the two militaries have grown in scale and frequency.

US arms sale to India has been increasing steadily with more and more advanced weaponry shipped to New Deli, including F-16 and F-18 fighter jets, a Austin-class amphibious transport ship and C-130 cargo planes.

Most recently, the Obama administration in May 2009 approved the sale to India of 8 P-8I maritime patrol aircraft worth 2.1 billion US dollars, the largest US arms transfer to India to date.

Multiple purposes

For policymakers in Washington, closer military relationship with India will serve multiple purposes.

Foremost, Washington regards India as a vital balancing force in Asia, where several emerging powers exist.

Zhao Qinghai, a Chinese international affairs researcher, pointed out that there is a military meaning under Washington's pledge to "help India to become a 21st century world power."

Some US officials have discussed about an idea of an Asian version of NATO, a military alliance among the United States, India, Japan and Australia.

Secondly, overstretched by two wars, the United States obviously hopes to find a new partner like India to share some of its burden across the globe.

Thirdly, the US defense industry could benefit from growing US arms sale to India, which has been vigorously increasing defense procurement.

Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co. are competing for India's plan to buy 126 multi-role fighters, which would be one of the largest arms deals in the world. Clinton's trip to India will bring home some good news for them.

Evan A. Feigenbaum, an expert at Council of Foreign Relations, said explicitly that "India is among the largest potential US defense customers."

However, as a growing power, India is proud of its history and culture, and has its own aspirations and visions, which may not all fit in with US strategic calculations.

India's nonalignment and independent foreign policy is unlikely to change.

Also, India's traditional relations with Russia and other key regional players may require a balance when dealing with the United States and other countries at the same time.
 
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The Hindu News Update Service

Hillary for deepening strategic ties with India

Mumbai (IANS): US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday expressed a desire to strengthen strategic ties with India as she began a five-day trip by pressing Pakistan to take action against terrorists who attacked Mumbai, including the luxury hotel where she is staying.

Dressed in an elegant red business suit, Ms. Clinton captivated innumerable hearts as she spent a hectic day meeting corporate leaders, victims of the November 2008 terror attack, women activists, journalists besides teachers and students of a leading college.

Ms. Clinton, who arrived on Friday night amid rains, declared that the US was "entering (an era of) a new and even more promising relations with India" and that her country wanted to "broaden and deepen our relationship".

On Defence pact

She said she was optimistic about concluding a defence pact to enable Washington to monitor the end use of arms and sensitive technologies sold to India to ensure that they are not diverted to other countries.

"We are working very hard to finalise a number of agreements. I am optimistic we will get such agreements resolved and announced," she said, when asked about the status of the arms 'end-user monitoring' pact.

The end-user verification agreement is likely to be signed between the two sides after Ms. Clinton meets External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna in New Delhi Monday.

A technology safeguards agreement on space launches and another pact on deepening educational ties are also expected to be signed during Ms. Clinton's visit. India is likely to announce two sites for US nuclear reactors.

On her fourth visit to India, Ms. Clinton began the day by paying homage to the over 170 people killed and those wounded when terrorists from Pakistan attacked several landmarks in Mumbai last year. One of them was the Taj Palace and Tower Hotel where Ms. Clinton is now a guest.

She met some of the survivors of the savagery at the Taj hotel and then described terrorism as "ruthless and nihilistic". The Taj was badly damaged in the firefight between the terrorists and commandos.

She was given a tour of the now renovated Taj hotel by Karimbir Kang, its general manager whose wife and two children were among those slain by the terrorists who went from room to room shooting and hurling grenades.

She said she was deeply touched to meet the staff of the Taj and the nearby Oberoi-Trident Hotel who faced the brunt of the terrorists, nine of whom were killed by commandos after about 60 hours.

Referring to Friday's bombings in Jakarta, Ms. Clinton said it was a "painful reminder (that terrorism) is global, it is ruthless, it is nihilistic, and it must be stopped".

Responding to a question that Pakistan was not doing enough against terrorists pitted against India, Ms. Clinton underlined that Islamabad needed to "root out" such outfits.

"We believe they have to be rooted out, they must be defeated, they must be dismantled. We say that clearly, we will continue to do so."

She said "It is imperative for Pakistan to go after all terrorist groups. Even if they were focussed elsewhere, they are now part of a common criminal syndicate."

She said the US had no role to play in a resolution of the decades-old India-Pakistan dispute over Kashmir and denied her country was forcing the two countries to go for negotiations.

Ms. Clinton met select Indian business leaders on issues like energy security, agriculture, global financial crisis and climate change. She said she had "exciting and fruitful" discussions.

The meeting was organised by Tata group chairman Ratan Naval Tata. Also present were Reliance group's Mukesh Ambani, ICICI Bank's Chanda Kochhar, Nicholas Piramal's Swati Piramal, Godrej group's Adi Godrej and Mahindra and Mahindra's Anand Mahindra.

"We have entered into new and promising era of cooperation between our two countries," said Ms. Clinton during a brief interaction with the media later.

Climate change

On climate change, she said there was no contradiction between poverty eradication and moving towards a low-carbon economy. "We acknowledge we've made mistakes and we, with other developed countries, are responsible" for global warming.

"We are hoping that a great country like India will not make the same mistakes."

After lunch, Ms. Clinton renewed her association with the artisans of the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA), a group she first came into contact with 14 years ago when she was America's first lady.

She also spent an hour with Bollywood icon Aamir Khan at the St. Xavier's College discussing with students and teachers an issue close to her heart -- spreading education.

Ms. Clinton will on Sunday fly to New Delhi where she will meet top leaders for talks on issues including economic growth, climate change, education, health care, non-proliferation and counter-terrorism.
 

bhramos

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No intrusive US checks on INdian Army bases: Report

No intrusive US checks on INdian Army bases: Report


New Delhi: There was turmoil in Parliament on Tuesday when India finalised a military inspections regime with the US. The Opposition, which called it a sell-out to Washington, may have wasted its breath.

CNN-IBN has learnt that the text of the End Use Monitoring Agreement has been modified to India's advantage. Inspections of American supplied equipment will be done by the US on India's terms at a place of India's choosing and inspectors will have no access to sensitive military bases.

MoS External Affairs, Shashi Tharoor said, "The Government of India will have a say in deciding how, where, when, in what circumstances the inspection will take place. There is no intrusive right granted for on-site inspection nor any dilution of sovereignty."

Top military sources told CNN-IBN that there would be no operational restrictions on the use of American weaponry. The concessions have been wrested after tough bargaining.

Defence Minister, AK Antony said, "After three years of hard bargaining between both sides, the Government has finally taken a decision to go ahead."

Defence sources also revealed that similar end-use verification agreements had been signed with other countries as part of specific arms contracts. But no foreign inspection of armaments has ever been carried out in India so far.

India has opened up its defence market to the US with some big ticket deals including those for P8 spy planes and Hercules transport aircraft. The rules are being drawn up for a new engagement.

(With inputs from Raheel Khurshid in New Delhi)

No intrusive US checks on Indian Army bases: Report
 
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Clinton helps Obama rope in India as potential ally | csmonitor.com

Clinton helps Obama rope in India as potential ally
The successes during her trip expand the president's vision for a multipolar world.

Recasting the world according to the vision of Barack Obama may not always be easy for his secretary of State and erstwhile political rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton. But her recent three-day visit to India shows the former first lady can dutifully deliver results that point to an Obama-style global order.

The president (and thus Ms. Clinton) sees India as one of a few major or emerging powers that are well shy of being US allies but nonetheless might work more closely with the US – as the sole global superpower. He wants to share the burden of uplifting humanity and keeping the peace as he prefers to focus on his heavy domestic agenda.

By and large, the Clinton visit revealed an India ready to deepen ties with the US – far more so than with, say, China or Russia, and in similar measure to fellow democracies like Turkey, Brazil, South Africa, and Indonesia.

What does such closeness look like?

Clinton won deals on selling US nuclear power-plant equipment to India as well as high-tech military equipment that can be tracked for its end use. She also made some progress in bringing India closer to abiding by international rules on nuclear weapons known as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

India won regular, high-level, multi-ministerial strategic talks with the US that will expand on the Bush administration's stronger military ties with this South Asian giant. And in a sign of Mr. Obama's global agenda to look beyond traditional American allies, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be the first foreign leader to receive an official red-carpet state visit to the Obama White House.

If Obama is true to his vision, he won't wait too long to travel to India after Mr. Singh's November visit. That gesture would help cement a partnership long overdue between the world's two largest democracies.

On the vital issues of climate change and a possible bilateral free-trade agreement, however, India and the Obama administration remain far apart. India does not want international attempts at curbing global warming to slow its economy. And it wants to protect its farmers from inexpensive US agricultural exports.

And while India enjoys new US attention, it remains vigilant against any American meddling in its touchy ties with Pakistan, especially over the issues of Kashmir and Afghanistan. India is rightly worried that Pakistan's recent attempts to crack down on terrorists will extend only to those militants not interested in attacking India. Memories are still raw over last year's massive killings in Mumbai (Bombay) by a group of Pakistani gunmen.

Still, India remains pivotal to Obama's attempt to stabilize Afghanistan, while India welcomes the US as a balancing force in its regional competition with China. These are the building blocks of an emerging and potentially enduring strategic relationship.

The US and India need to work particularly hard at raising American understanding of India – beyond such cultural encounters as the film "Slumdog Millionaire." The two countries have never had an intense experience of each other, such as the US wars – hot and cold – with Japan, China, Russia, and Germany.

Clinton, who visited India in 1995 as first lady in a high-profile trip, is well poised to expand the necessary people exchanges between the two countries. In that role, she is an asset for Obama as he enlists India and other powers to help him find more help in running the world.
 

RPK

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EUM with US enhances India's access to best tech: Govt- Politics/Nation-News-The Economic Times

NEW DELHI: Government today said the End User Monitoring (EUM) agreement with the United States enhances India's access to best technology to meet
its security requirements and does not dilute the country's defence policy.

"EUM in no way dilutes India's defence policy but rather enhances India's access to the best technology required to meet her security requirements," Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur said in a written reply to a Rajya Sabha query.

She said that India and US have agreed on a new standard EUM clause that will be included in Letters of Offer and Acceptance for acquisition of defence articles and equipment to be acquired by Government of India from US Government.

"No blanket agreement has been signed," she said. The minister said that as per the agreed formulation, the US will have to consult India before relevant equipment is made available for verification at an agreed date, time and place.

During US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to India from July 17-21, India had agreed on a new standard EUM with the US.
 

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