http://thebricspost.com/us-senate-refuses-to-grant-india-strategic-defence-partner-status/
US Senate refuses to grant India “strategic defence partner” status
June 16, 2016, 6:28 am
The US had aimed to use tensions between India and Pakistan as well as
its own Asia Pivot as a backdrop to increased security cooperation
with New Delhi [Xinhua]
A week after the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
Washington has gone back on its promise to grant India special status
as “strategic partner”.
The US Senate has failed to recognise India as a “global strategic and
defence partner” after a key amendment necessary to modify its export
control regulations could not be passed on Wednesday.
In a joint statement last week, the United States said it would now
recognize India as a “Major Defense Partner” and would work on
technology sharing “to a level commensurate with that of its closest
allies and partners.”
A day after Indian Prime Minister Modi’s recent address to a joint
session of the US Congress, top Republican senator John McCain had
moved an amendment to the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA-17)
which if passed would have recognised India as a global strategic and
defence partner.
NDAA was passed by the Senate with an overwhelming bipartisan vote of
85-13. But some of the key amendments including the (SA 4618) even
though they had bipartisan support could not be passed by the Senate.
“The (Senate) amendment (No 4618) was not adopted to the NDAA,” a
Congressional aide told Indian news agency PTI.
The US had aimed to use tensions between India and Pakistan as well as
its own Asia Pivot as a backdrop to increased security cooperation
with New Delhi.
As China and the US face off in the South China Sea, Washington is
keen to enlist Indian support.
However, New Delhi had ensured that the US-India joint statement
issued after Modi-Obama talks does not mention the much hyped South
China Sea dispute. The document instead refers to “settlement of
territorial disputes by peaceful means”.
“The leaders reiterated the importance they attach to ensuring freedom
of navigation and overflight and exploitation of resources as per
international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law
of the Sea (UNCLOS), and settlement of territorial disputes by
peaceful means,” said the Indo-US joint statement.
The US has not signed the UN treaty, the UNCLOS.
Last week, President Barack Obama welcomed Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi to the White House for their seventh meeting since Modi
took office in 2014.
The two countries also welcomed preparations that could lead to the
building of six nuclear reactors in India by US-based Westinghouse, in
what would be the culmination of some 10 years of work to resolve
civil-nuclear issues.
After landing in Delhi from his US trip, Modi took stock of ties with
Moscow in a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin
on Saturday.
Modi initiated the phone call, the Kremlin press service said.
Modi will host Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in October
during the 8th BRICS Summit in the western Indian state of Goa.
TBP and Agencies
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