India backs off from military pact with US

We’ll get back to you on access to bases: Antony to Gates

NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday clearly indicated to the United States that it would not sign the crucial logistics support agreement that would grant American ships and aircraft almost unrestricted access to Indian military bases. New Delhi also conveyed its reservations about two other intrusive military agreements proposed by the US.

India’s reluctance, conveyed by Defence minister AK Antony to his visiting US counterpart Robert Gates, to further expand the bilateral military relations comes at a time when the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance  (UPA) is doing some course correction, away from its aggressive courting of
the US.  

Antony, however, told Gates that the US will “find a very level playing field” in India as far as defence procurements are concerned.

Said a senior official who attended the meeting, Antony told Gates: “We need to look at various aspects [of the logistics support agreement]. We will revert to you.”

Indian officials insisted that they had “no hardline issues” on the other two agreements— the end-use verification agreement that would permit annual American inspection of all systems sold to India, and CISMOA (communication interoperability and security memorandum of agreement), under which India has to ensure that all its US made systems will be inter-operable with American systems.

On the end-use verification agreement, a senior official said, “We have reservations about one or two clauses, but it is mandatory under the US laws. We are not comfortable with it.” The key aspect of the agreement is allowing Americans to carry out regular “onsite verification” of Indian military assets acquired from the US. The two sides are trying to “work a way around”, the official said.

The Indian government has sent a “counter-draft to Washington DC”, he said.