Parrikar meets Ash Carter.
By Sreekanth A Nair
India will participate in two important military exercises in the US next year, namely Rim-of-the-Pacific (RIMPAC) naval exercise and multilateral Red Flag exercise.
The decision was taken in a meeting between India’s defense minister Manohar Parrikar and US Defense Secretary Ash Carter, in Washington, DC.
The Rim-of-the-Pacific (RIMPAC) is a multilateral naval exercise hosted by the US Navy and is considered as the largest international maritime warfare exercise in the world. It is conducted biennially during June and July.
Red Flag is a multilateral aerial combat training exercise hosted by the US Air Force, which will be conducted in April-May 2016. India had participated in the exercise eight years back.
The US has also decided to participate in the International Fleet Review of the Indian Navy at Visakhapatnam in February 2016.
The US Defense Secretary Ash Carter welcomed India’s participation in the Rim-of-the-Pacific (RIMPAC) multilateral naval exercise in 2016 as well as participation by the Indian Air Force in the multilateral Red Flag exercise in April-May 2016 and expressed support for greater air-to-air interaction in the future.
Parrikar welcomed the announcement of U.S. participation in the International Fleet Review of the Indian Navy at Visakhapatnam in February 2016.
Carter and Parrikar discussed the India-US defense relationship and ways to maintain the strategic partnership and gear up security and defense engagement.
Both of them expressed satisfaction with the progress in the Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) and decided to move forward with the agreement.
Parrikar and Carter commended positive discussions at the Joint Working Group on Aircraft Carrier Technology Cooperation (JWGACTC), especially in the area of aircraft launch and recovery equipment (ALRE), and look forward to continued progress to be achieved at the second meeting of the JWGACTC in February 2016 in India.
They further expressed satisfaction that the Jet Engine Technology Joint Working Group (JETJWG), which met this week in Bengaluru, had concluded its Terms of Reference and had a productive discussion on cooperation in this area.
Parrikar informed Carter about the Make in India initiative introduced by Narendra Modi government, under which defense sector in India have witnessed several developments.
They also discussed the regional security issues and threats raised by the terrorist organizations such as ISIS, Al-Qa’ida, Lashkar-e-Tayibba, and Jaish-e-Mohammad.
The Indo-Asian News Service quoted Parrikar saying, “Numerous positive changes have been incorporated through the revision of the offset policy and the Defense Procurement Procedure (DPP).
“The US government needs to reciprocate positively for technology transfer approvals and leverage opportunities created by the procedural changes in Indian defense procurement,†he added.
Answering a question on the comments of US presidential candidate Donald Trump about Muslims, Parrikar said India doesn’t discriminate between people on the basis of religion, except for people who have taken to terrorism.
Both the leaders kept silence on three strategic agreements – the Communications Inter-Operability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA), the LSA (Logistics Support Agreement) and the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-Spatial Cooperation (BECA).
The US wants India to sign these agreements for fully transfer of defense technology, but India is not willing to sign it, fearing the US will get access to Indian military equipment and data.