FRIDAY, MAY 24, 2002
US to provide India with special forces equipment
PTI
WASHINGTON: US will provide India with special forces equipment Defence Secretary Yogendra Narain said here on Friday.
After the end of three-day of talks with his US counterpart Under Secretary of Defence Douglas Feith under the auspices of the Indo-US Defence Policy Group, Narain told reporters here that the US will give India night vision equipment, thermal imaging, and personal protection equipment.
The US has also agreed to consider the Indian request to extend joint naval patrols from the Strait of Malacca to the Strait of Hormuz.
A joint statement by the DPG on the meeting said the US and India have charted a new course in bilateral relations which entails growth in cooperation on defence and security matters.
During the meet, the two delegations approved a range of activities proposed by DPG subgroups responsible for plans for cooperating, including specialized training programmes and joint exercises to be carried out by armed services of the two countries during the next year; developing a defence supply relationship, including through Government-to-Government Foreign Military Sales programme.
Highlighting the importance of the ongoing Special Operations Airborne Exercise in building interoperability, the DPG agreed to conduct further exercises.
They also agreed that their representatives would in coming weeks address counter-terrorism equipment requirements for India's Special Operations Forces.
The two delegations agreed on the need to work closely for fast approvals of export licences in US and resumption of technical cooperation in defence research, development and production.
During the meeting, the two sides also reaffirmed their commitment to work together to prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems and agreed to hold further consultations in the coming weeks on the threat such proliferation poses to their common security interests.
Reaffirming the contribution that missile defences can make to enhance cooperative security and stability, the DPG decided to hold a future missile defence workshop in New Delhi and agreed on the value of pursuing a missile defence requirements analysis for India.
The Indian delegation accepted invitations to the June 2002 missile defence conference in Dallas, Texas, and the June 2003 Roving Sands missile defence exercise.
They also noted shared interest in continued cooperation and support for UN peackeeping operations. India has accepted the US invitation to participate in the multinational peacekeeping exercise in Bangladesh in September 2002 and has agreed to co-host with the US Pacific Command a peacekeeping command post exercise to be held in New Delhi in early 2003.
Agreeing on the negative impact of an International Criminal court on such operations, they underlined the importance of cooperation between the US and India to oppose its applicability to non-parties, as such applicability would be an assertion of jurisdiction beyond the limits of international law.
The two delegations agreed to hold the next meeting of the DPG in New Delhi in early February 2003.
A broad range of issues, including how to enhance prospects for peace and stability in Asia, strengthen counter-terrorism efforts, and improving the security environment in Afghanistan also came up for discussion during the DPG.
Besides, the DPG also set a course for cooperation in additional areas, including consequence management in response to weapons of mass destruction, humanitarian relief, cyber terrorism and environmental security.
The two delegations agreed to hold the next meeting of the DPG in New Delhi in early February 2003.
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