'India's strategic autonomy constrain in defence ties'

Lalit K Jha, Washington, Apr 7 (PTI) New Delhi's desire to maintain
its strategic autonomy is a constrain in the defence ties with
the United States, a top Pentagon official has said, even as
he noted the significant advancement in Indo-US military
relationship in recent years.
"India's historic leadership of the non-alignment
movement and desire to maintain strategic autonomy somewhat
constrain cooperation at a level USPACOM (US Pacific Command)
desires," the US Pacific Command Commander Admiral Robert
Willard said in his testimony before House Armed Services
Committee.
"The US-India relationship remains challenged by a
degree of suspicion fueled by Cold War-influenced perceptions,
complicated Indian political and bureaucratic processes, and
the US-Pakistan relationship," Willard said.
But, he said there was noteworthy advancement in
others areas like counter-terrorism and disaster management.
"Cooperation is especially noteworthy in the areas of
counter-terrorism, humanitarian assistance and disaster
relief, and maritime security," Willard said.
He has said the recent removal of Indian defence-and
space-related industries from the US Entity List not only
recognises India's record of responsible stewardship of
sensitive technologies but further enables bilateral
cooperation in areas of mutual interests.
Relations with both India and Pakistan are vital to US
national interests and cannot be addressed in isolation.
"To that end, the leadership and staffs of United
States Central Command and USPACOM continue to engage in order
to ensure a coordinated strategic approach that best meets US
interests," he said.
In South Asia, he said the US is endeavoring to work
with Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives and the nation of
India to contain Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistani based extremist
organisation that is already established in South Asia and was
responsible for the attack on the western Indian city of
Mumbai.
"In order to accomplish that, we've been working very
closely with the office of the Secretary of Defence in
ensuring that we have adequate resources, including
authorities to be able to accomplish that mission," he told
Congressmen in response to a question.
"The South Asian sub-region is dominated by India, an
emerging US strategic partner, and also includes Bangladesh,
Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan," he said.
While there are prospects for enduring peace and
prosperity, this sub-region is challenged by historical
animosity between India and Pakistan, contested borders
between India and China, and transnational threats that
include terrorism, WMD proliferation, piracy, and narcotics
trafficking.
The sub-region is also prone to a wide array of
natural disasters and lacks the resources and capabilities to
effectively respond.
"This is exacerbated by the absence of a strong
multilateral security structure," he said.