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Indo-U.S. military talks revived
By Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, FEB. 4. Signalling a return to the pre-Pokhran II era, India and the United States today revived military-to-military interaction, aimed at promoting close ties between the two armed forces.
The inter-Army executive steering group (ESG) began its interaction while the inter-Naval ESG is scheduled to commence its deliberations tomorrow in Chennai. Air Force level discussions will be held in Hawaii, the U.S., from February 18 to 21.
Senior Army officers, led by the Director-General of Military Operations, S. S. Chahal, and the Commander of the American Army contingent in the U.S. Pacific Command, James Campbell, met for the first time in five years to promote greater cohesion between the two forces.
The deliberations over the next two days will cover diverse military issues and will include joint training and exercises, counter-terrorism, Intelligence sharing, peace-keeping operations and disaster management. The accent for now is likely to be on special training for the Indian officers and Intelligence sharing .
The joint Naval ESG is expected to focus on joint search and rescue operations and training, and explore ``areas of mutual cooperation'' - an euphemism for the involvement of the Indian Navy in a multi-nation effort to patrol the Malacca Straits and other vulnerable spots for oil tankers in the Indian Ocean. The Deputy Chief of Naval Staff, S. V. Gopalachari, leads the Indian side while the American team is headed by its 7th Fleet Commander, James Wallace Metzger.
Bilateral Naval cooperation had covered much ground in the past but ties were abruptly frozen after the Pokhran nuclear tests in 1998. Besides joining multi-national surveillance grid in the sea - a proposal for which is pending with the Cabinet Committee on Security - the two sides are also keen on joint exercises, the last of which, held in 1998, were termed the `Malabar series.'
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