'U.S.-India military ties on upward trend'

By Nirupama Subramanian

COLOMBO, JULY 10. The United States will improve its military relations with India, but will not let that affect its ties with Pakistan, a senior U.S. Navy official said today.

Admiral Dennis C Blair, commander in chief of the U..S Forces in the Pacific and the Indian Ocean, who is on a two-day visit to Sri Lanka, told journalists that military ties between the U.S. and India were on an ``upward trend''.

``But our military relations with India will not take place at the expense of Pakistan. We intend to maintain relations with both India and Pakistan,'' Admiral Blair said.

Observing that both countries had nuclear weapons and a history of hostilities over Kashmir, he said it was in the interests of the U.S. to engage with both the countries.

Admiral Blair said he believed both India and the U.S. had common goals with regard to nuclear weapons, and that developing a high nuclear threshold, low proliferation and a responsible attitude towards such weapons would be served better by co-operation rather than criticism of India's nuclear policies. ``We can work with India to keep those weapons in a safe condition''.

There were a number of other areas were Indian and U.S. military interests ran parallel, from peacekeeping to combating international terrorism and narcotics, and countering piracy in the high seas of the region.

The official, who heads the largest of the U.S. unified commands and is the U.S. representative for collective defence arrangements in the Pacific, is on a routine visit to Sri Lanka.

Admiral Blair met the President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, who is the commander of the armed forces and also the Defence Minister. He also held meetings with the military top brass, the Foreign Minister and the Deputy Minister of Defence, and visited naval and air force installations in the capital.

The U.S. sends trainers to Sri Lanka every year for its elite Special Forces. Sri Lankan military officers attend undergraduate, staff and command courses in the U.S. Sri Lanka also buys some military hardware from the U.S.

Admiral Blair said the level of military co-operation between the two countries would depend on ``events''.

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Section  : International
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