US army chief’s visit adds milestone to Indo-US ties

SRINAGAR: After signing the civilian nuclear deal, the US army chief general George W Casey’s recently-concluded visit to Siachen Glacier in Ladakh  has added another milestone in the enhanced Indo-US relationship particularly in the defence sector.

While Casey’s visit to Ladakh has raised hackles in Pakistan, the army in Jammu and Kashmir is treading cautiously as it continues to play down on developments of Casey visit.

“Anyone visiting Ladakh is being seen as visiting Siachen. The US army chief visited Ladakh and met the general officer commanding lieutenant general Ahulwalia. The discussions revolved around the high altitude warfare training as a part of the bilateral defence cooperation,” said lieutenant colonel Anil K Mathur, the defence spokesman at Srinagar.

“Both the countries have a troops exchange programme. Our troops visit the US and participate in different warfare courses. Similarly, they visit us for certain programmes. Last year, we had joint exercises with British troops in Ladakh sector,” Mathur said.

“We see Casey’s visit as part of a joint training programme in high altitude warfare. These courses could be at the platoon and company level since we have had expertise in this area as we have fought wars in the rugged terrain at the very high altitude,” he added. Mathur however rubbished Pakistan’s objection. “They can object to anything, what I can say?” he said.

Experts, however see the visit in a broader context. “This visit should be seen in the context of geo-politics. It could a part of the plan to encircle China, the potential adversary of US,” said Dr Sheikh Showkat Hussain, a noted analyst who teaches international law at the University of Kashmir.

Hussain however cautioned against the US interests. “We have a reason to be concerned because if the US wants to further its interests and encircle China, we could easily become the new epicenter of the tussle between America-led NATO and China,” he said.

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