[The relative drift however lies within the broader framework of rapidly growing Indo-US proximity since the dissolution of the USSR and the camp led by it as a balancing power opposed to the US and its entourage.]
I/II. http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2011/04/29&PageLabel=17&EntityId=Ar01700&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T <http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2011/04/29&PageLabel=17&EntityId=Ar01700&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T> Roemer quits day after US loses aircraft dealDrift In Indo-US Ties May Go On, US May Upset India’s UNSC BidIndrani Bagchi TNN New Delhi: Hard on the heels of India tossing out US bids for the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) fighter aircraft deal, US ambassador Timothy Roemer announced he was leaving his post. Although his decision was unrelated to the MMRCA decision and was apparently in the works for a while, his decision to announce it on Thursday drew an immediate link to the Indian decision. There will be a blowback from Washington over the Indian decision, and many believe Roemer’s announcement is the beginning. In a statement, Roemer said the US was “deeply disappointed” at losing out on the contract. “I have been personally assured at the highest levels of the Indian government that the procurement process for this aircraft has been and will be transparent and fair. I am extremely confident that the Boeing F/A 18IN and Lockheed-Martin F-16IN would provide the Indian Air Force an unbeatable platform with proven technologies at a competitive price,” he said. Indian officials said it had been clear for some time that the US planes fell short on the technical front. Those who believed that political considerations would triumph did not take into account that in light of the massive corruption scandals involving the Commonwealth Games and 2G spectrum, there was no way this government could override technical arguments to take a political call. But on a larger canvas, the Indian decision shows the level of deterioration in India-US relations. From the nuclear liability law onwards, things have not been positive on the India-US front. India believes it bent over backwards to accommodate US concerns during the deal and in its aftermath, as in the end-user verification issue. The US believed it got short shrift on India’s nuclear liability law, which makes it difficult for US companies to get into the Indian N-power sector. Wikileaks put a serious obstacle in bilateral ties with the Indian government treating the leaks as a sort of diplomatic betrayal. The dumped documents made the PM seem too keen to accommodate US views, portraying the Manmohan Singh government as being “US-friendly” (which despite all the closeness, is a bad word in the establishment). India believed the US served it a bad turn when Washington allowed China to do a nuclear deal with Pakistan, bereft of the kind of conditions that India had to subject itself to. China will give extra nuclear reactors to Pakistan and there will be no separation of civil and military nuclear sectors as India was forced to do. All this happened with US consent. The US, on the other hand, believes India has not kept up its part of the bargain after the N-deal. They believe they made a huge concession to India by overcoming dissent in their own system to support India for a permanent seat in the UNSC. Sources in Washington said the US would probably walk back from that support. The drift in India-US relations may go on. Sources said it is unclear if Obama will listen to his advisers to pay India back for its decision. The first sign will be whether he appoints a new envoy any time soon. II. US pressure fails to pull its fighter through IAF testRajat Pandit, TNN | Apr 29, 2011, 03.13am IST NEW DELHI: From a US versus Europe<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Europe> battle, it has become a Europe versus France tussle. The US did mount a high-voltage campaign over the last four years, with even President Barack Obama<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Barack-Obama> making a strong sales pitch for American fighters in the final stages but in the end India <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/India> went "purely" by the gruelling technical evaluation. Officials, in fact, said both PM Manmohan Singh<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Manmohan-Singh> and defence minister A K Antony had made it clear that the selection process for the gigantic $10.4 billion project to acquire 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) should be guided solely by IAF's operational requirements, not by "any other extraneous factor", as also the prospect of further modernizing the jets during their 40-year lifespan. This came even as representatives of only Eurofighter Typhoon (EADS, backed by the UK, Germany, Spain and Italy), French Rafale (Dassault) jets were called to the defence ministry on Thursday to extend the validity of their yet-to-be-opened commercial bids, within two weeks, till December 31. Rejection letters, in turn, have already been handed over to the other four contenders, American F/A-18 'Super Hornet' (Boeing) and F-16 'Super Viper' ( Lockheed Martin <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Lockheed-Martin>), Swedish Gripen (Saab), and Russian MiG-35 (United Aircraft Corporation). Though the Europeans were apprehensive that the Americans might use their clout to swing the MMRCA project, like US has done in other defence deals in the past, their fears have now been laid to rest. The Eurofighter, followed closely by Rafale, "came closest" to meeting the 643 technical attributes specified by India during the long-drawn field trials held by IAF test pilots both in India and abroad under different weather conditions. "The other four fell below the base line of minimum air staff qualitative requirements to be met," said the official. It is, of course, no secret that India remains unhappy with US for supplying more F-16s to Pakistan <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Pakistan> on the pretext of the war against terror. Neither is the defence ministry, led by Antony, convinced about the "utility and benefits" of the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA), Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum Agreement (CISMOA) and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-Spatial Cooperation (BECA), the foundational military agreements being pushed by US. While the absence of CISMOA restricts US from transferring certain high-tech equipment to India, the already-inked End-Use Monitoring Agreement (EUMA) gives Washington the right to inspect the military equipment sold to New Delhi <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/New-Delhi> as well as puts certain restrictions on their operational use. Is it any wonder then that India seems to be restricting its military aircraft purchases from the US to transport and reconnaissance planes the like three Business <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Business> Boeing <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Boeing> Jets, six C-130J 'Super Hercules', 12 P-8I Poseidon and 10 C-17 Globemaster-III, which together cost upwards of $8 billion. Moreover, it's not as if the Eurofighter and Rafale were pushovers despite the geo-political clout of the US. The former is, after all, backed by UK, Germany, Spain and Italy. France, too, has been a long-term defence partner of India and, incidentally, did not impose sanctions after the Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB.
