Author:
Publication: Defense Link
Date: May 23, 2002
URL: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/May2002/b05232002_bt267-02.html
The U.S.-India Defense Policy Group
(DPG) met May 20-23, 2002 in Washington, D.C. Under Secretary of Defense
for Policy Douglas Feith hosted the meeting and Defence Secretary Dr. Yogendra
Narain led the Indian delegation.
In the past year, guided by direction
from Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Bush, India and the United States
have charted a new course in their bilateral relationship. This course
reflects appreciation on both sides of the importance of the U.S.-India
relationship in building stability and security in Asia and beyond. This
new course entails rapid growth in cooperation on defense and security
matters. In a matter of months, the U.S. and India defense establishments
have translated the broad vision for the relationship into action. No fewer
than a dozen separate groups have met to map out a purposeful path for
the U.S.-India defense relationship.
The DPG last met in December 2001.
A second meeting within six months reflects the ambitious agenda agreed
to in December to accelerate the pace of U.S-India defense cooperation.
At the December DPG, both sides set out to accomplish something significant.
They have achieved results. These include:
- combined naval patrols in the
Strait of Malacca.
- resumption of defense trade, beginning
with the "Firefinder" radar sale.
- combined special forces airborne
exercises in Agra, India.
- U.S.-India Ballistic Missile Defense
workshop in Colorado Springs, Colo.
- signing of a General Security
of Military Information Agreement to facilitate cooperation in defense
technology.
These activities are a practical
implementation of the ideas developed during the last DPG.
The two sides emphasized the importance
of the DPG and other bilateral exchanges in coordinating approaches to
security issues in Asia and beyond. They discussed a broad range of such
issues, including how to enhance prospects for peace and stability in Asia,
strengthen counter-terrorism efforts, and improve the security environment
in Afghanistan, including reconstruction efforts and building the Afghan
National Army.
They reaffirmed their commitment
to work together to prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
and their delivery systems. To this end, the two sides agreed to hold further
consultations in the coming weeks on the threat such proliferation poses
to their common security interests.
The two sides reaffirmed the contribution
that missile defenses can make to enhance cooperative security and stability.
They decided to hold a future missile defense workshop in New Delhi and
agreed on the value of pursuing a missile defense requirements analysis
for India. The Indian delegation accepted invitations to the June 2002
missile defense conference in Dallas, Tex., and the June 2003 Roving Sands
missile defense exercise.
They agreed that terrorism and state
support for terrorism remains a major threat to the security of their two
countries. In this context, they noted the success of Operation Enduring
Freedom and the broader war on terrorism, and condemned the recent upsurge
in terrorist attacks against India. They agreed that an end to terrorism
is critical to ensuring a future of peace and stability in South Asia and
around the world. They also reiterated their determination to continue
the task of eliminating al Qaeda and other terrorist organisations and
entities.
The United States and India have
demonstrated progress in military cooperation aimed at enhancing mutual
capabilities in combating terrorism, including joint research and development
of technologies for meeting this threat. They highlighted the importance
of the ongoing special operations airborne exercise in building interoperability
between U.S. and Indian armed forces, and agreed to conduct further exercises.
The two sides agreed that in the coming weeks their representatives would
address counterterrorism equipment requirements for India's special operations
forces.
The two delegations approved a range
of activities proposed by DPG subgroups responsible for plans for cooperation,
including:
Specialized training programs and
joint exercises to be carried out by the armed services of the two countries
during the next year.
Developing a defense supply relationship,
including through the government-to-government Foreign Military Sales program.
The two delegations agreed on the need to work closely for speedier approvals
of export licences in the United States.
Resumption of technical cooperation
in defense research, development and production, following the meeting
of the Joint Technical Group in New Delhi in early March.
They also noted shared interest
in continued cooperation in and support for UN peacekeeping operations.
India has accepted the U.S. invitation to participate in the multinational
peace operations exercise in Bangladesh in September 2002 and has agreed
to co-host, with the U.S. Pacific Command, a peacekeeping command post
exercise to be held in New Delhi in early 2003. The sides agreed that peacekeeping
and coalition operations are important tools to enhance stability around
the world. In this context, they discussed the negative impact of an International
Criminal Court (ICC) on such operations. They agreed on the serious inadequacies
of the ICC and underlined the importance of cooperation between the U.S.
and India to oppose its applicability to non-parties, as such applicability
would be an assertion of jurisdiction beyond the limits of international
law.
In addition to the areas of cooperation
outlined above, the DPG has set a course for cooperation in additional
areas, including consequence management in response to weapons of mass
destruction, humanitarian relief, cyberterrorism, and environmental security.
Secretary Narain also called on
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Deputy Secretary of State Richard
Armitage, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Richard Myers, and
Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Stephen
Hadley. These meetings reflected the emphasis both sides place on the growing
bilateral defense relationship.
The two delegations agreed to hold
the next meeting of the DPG in New Delhi in early February 2003.