The Hindu : U.S. team coming for talks on weapon sales

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 19, 2002

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U.S. team coming for talks on weapon sales
By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, FEB. 18. A high-level team from the United States is arriving here on Wednesday for talks on resuming arms sales to India after a three-decade gap.

The team headed by Major Gen. Bruce Scott will seek consensus on inking an agreement to purchase weapon locating radars. For the Indian Army, this agreement will be the first major Government-to-Government purchase of military equipment from the U.S. Agreements for other types of equipment are expected to follow, according to a U.S. Embassy statement coinciding with the visit by Richard Myers, the top U.S. military official.

In addition, senior Ministry of Defence officials will visit Washington in the last week of March to conduct the Security Cooperation Group (SCG) to discuss purchases of other weapon systems and platforms, including 40 engines for the light combat aircraft and sensors for the J&K border. Besides future military sales, the SCG will also address export licencing procedures as well as an acquisition and cross-servicing agreement aimed at enhancing the U.S.-India military interoperability.

Prior to the Washington visit, the first week of March will mark the resumption of yet another Indo-U.S. military forum - the Joint Technical Forum (JTG). It will explore opportunities for joint research, development and production of military systems. Several possible areas of cooperation identified before Pokhran-II are expected to be re-examined.

The commencement of buyer-seller relationship has been preceded by a three-year military level cooperation road-map between the two countries. In their Executive Steering Group (ESG) in Chennai early this month, the two navies evolved a three-year programme of joint exercises, combined operations, conferences and port visits. These activities will focus on search and rescue operations, anti-submarine warfare, maritime surveillance as well as integrated naval training in continuation of the Malabar exercise series which were stopped after Pokhran- II.

Detailed discussions about airspace control, personnel exchanges, joint usage of training sites and logistic support were also held. The talks also provided a framework for developing plans to combat terrorism and piracy.

At the army-to-army level, the ESG which also met early this month, specifics on security cooperation for the current calendar year were agreed upon. Both sides will soon establish the framework for joint activities for the next two years. Both sides will encourage military school exchanges between Indian and American soldiers, high altitude and cold water training and joint adventure training. The Air Force ESG is currently meeting in Hawaii and discussions are expected to centre around a macro-level review of how the Indian Air Force and U.S.A.F. can renew their relationship.

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