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Indian Army Chief meets US Joint Chiefs of Staff head |
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India’s Army Chief General S. Padmanabhan began his week-long US visit with a meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, General Richard Myers, on enhancing military-to-military ties between their countries, reports Vasantha Arora from Washington.
Padmanabhan, however, could not meet Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld because of the latter’s preoccupation elsewhere. After a luncheon discussion with the Indian Army Chief, Myers said at a Pentagon briefing: “He (Padmanabhan) is here precisely to discuss our military-to-military relationship and see US training facilities and discuss things that are of mutual interest to both India and the United States.” Myers said Padmanabhan would be travelling to other military bases, camps and posts in the US “to learn and observe and exchange ideas.”
Padmanabhan’s visit to the US came ahead of a planned joint high altitude warfare exercise by the armies of the two countries in the frozen deserts of Alaska. This will be the first time that Indian troops will exercise on American soil. Referring to ongoing military training programmes between the two countries, Myers said: “We have an extensive programme in terms of training, where we bring Indian officers and others here to the US to attend our educational institutions.”
The question of US military sales to India did not figure in their discussions, Myers said. The US recently sold sophisticated firefinder radars to India in a deal worth $146 million. The deal was clinched in Washington even as reports came in that the navies of the two countries had started joint patrolling of the Malacca Straits, marking yet another step forward in their growing military ties. The military ties between India and the US, characterised for decades by frostiness and suspicion, have been on the upswing since New Delhi offered unconditional support for Washington’s campaign against global terrorism.
The months after the September 11 terror attacks in the US have witnessed a flurry of high-level visits that culminated with the revival of the India-US Defence Policy Group (DPG) in December. The DPG is scheduled to meet again in May, and this will be preceded by a visit to India by Lincoln Bloomfield, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Politico-Military Affairs.
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