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**Virosponna** · 04-27-2012, 02:15 AM

Andrew J. Shapiro, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Carnegie Endowment Roundtable, Washington, DC, April 24, 2012

Last week I travelled to Dehli to conduct the first U.S.-India Pol-Mil talks since 2006. Our principal objective of these talks was to reaffirm our commitment to the bilateral relationship and chart a way forward toward a deeper defense partnership. And I believe that the talks made important progress to that end.

The United States and India are building a robust relationship based on shared security interests. Since the signing of a bilateral defense framework agreement in 2005, our defense relationship has become a major pillar of the strategic partnership. For example:

India now holds more than 50 annual military exercises with the United States, more than any other country.
Cumulative defense sales have grown from virtually zero to more than $8 billion.
And high-level exchanges on defense issues also have increased, as demonstrated by last week’s talks.

The defense trade relationship between the United States and India is certainly expanding and it plays an integral role in the defense relationship and overall strategic partnership. The United States successfully concluded several significant Foreign Military Sales and Direct Commercial Sales since 2009, including the sale of eight P-8I maritime surveillance aircraft, six C-130J transportation aircraft and ten C-17 transport aircraft. Once all have been delivered, India will have the second largest C-17 fleet behind the United States, providing it with a significant strategic airlift capability in the region.

With India’s projected defense trade spending expected to continue to increase, we are seeking to engage the Government of India to address any outstanding concerns they may have with the U.S. acquisition system. One of our major objectives during the talks was to better familiarize the Indian government with our system and to attempt to address any potential concerns they may have. During our discussions, we sought to explain the advantages and disadvantages of the Foreign Military Sales or FMS and Direct Commercial Sales or DCS systems by detailing how to go about choosing between them. FMS pertains to sales between governments, while DCS involves commercial defense sales abroad. Often times, countries can view FMS more skeptically and prefer the more transactional nature of the DCS system. However, we believe the U.S.-India defense and trade relationship would benefit by linking defense sales with broader strategic goals. That’s why we specifically articulated the technical and political advantages that FMS offers. This entails political buy-in and support from Congress. The full faith and backing of the U.S. government, transparency, support throughout the systems lifecycle, as well as expanded inter-operability between our forces, which would greatly benefit the U.S.-India defense and military-to-military relationships.

Another area of discussion was U.S. security assistance to India through our International Military Education and Training Program or IMET. India benefits from one of the largest and longest-standing IMET programs, graduating more than 1,700 Indian officers since the program’s initiation more than forty years ago. In FY 2011, more than 51 Indian officers came to the United States to attend courses through the IMET program. The linkages established through IMET also help build personal relationships between officer corps, which helps bolster our relationship over long term, as well as helps professionalize partner militaries. This is all achieved for a little more than one million dollars per year.

A major area of discussion during our talks was the issue of piracy emanating from Somalia. Somali pirates have expanded their range of operations all the way to the coast of India, creating a real security challenge for India and for the international community. My Bureau coordinates the U.S. counter-piracy response and we discussed ways we can together improve the international response to piracy. India has been an important contributor to the international effort. Since 2006, we have expanded our maritime cooperation with India, as we see counter-piracy as an area where we can work together closely.

04-27-2012, 02:15 AM	#35
Virosponna Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 459 Senior Member	Andrew J. Shapiro, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Carnegie Endowment Roundtable, Washington, DC, April 24, 2012 Last week I travelled to Dehli to conduct the first U.S.-India Pol-Mil talks since 2006. Our principal objective of these talks was to reaffirm our commitment to the bilateral relationship and chart a way forward toward a deeper defense partnership. And I believe that the talks made important progress to that end. The United States and India are building a robust relationship based on shared security interests. Since the signing of a bilateral defense framework agreement in 2005, our defense relationship has become a major pillar of the strategic partnership. For example: India now holds more than 50 annual military exercises with the United States, more than any other country. Cumulative defense sales have grown from virtually zero to more than $8 billion. And high-level exchanges on defense issues also have increased, as demonstrated by last week’s talks. The defense trade relationship between the United States and India is certainly expanding and it plays an integral role in the defense relationship and overall strategic partnership. The United States successfully concluded several significant Foreign Military Sales and Direct Commercial Sales since 2009, including the sale of eight P-8I maritime surveillance aircraft, six C-130J transportation aircraft and ten C-17 transport aircraft. Once all have been delivered, India will have the second largest C-17 fleet behind the United States, providing it with a significant strategic airlift capability in the region. With India’s projected defense trade spending expected to continue to increase, we are seeking to engage the Government of India to address any outstanding concerns they may have with the U.S. acquisition system. One of our major objectives during the talks was to better familiarize the Indian government with our system and to attempt to address any potential concerns they may have. During our discussions, we sought to explain the advantages and disadvantages of the Foreign Military Sales or FMS and Direct Commercial Sales or DCS systems by detailing how to go about choosing between them. FMS pertains to sales between governments, while DCS involves commercial defense sales abroad. Often times, countries can view FMS more skeptically and prefer the more transactional nature of the DCS system. However, we believe the U.S.-India defense and trade relationship would benefit by linking defense sales with broader strategic goals. That’s why we specifically articulated the technical and political advantages that FMS offers. This entails political buy-in and support from Congress. The full faith and backing of the U.S. government, transparency, support throughout the systems lifecycle, as well as expanded inter-operability between our forces, which would greatly benefit the U.S.-India defense and military-to-military relationships. Another area of discussion was U.S. security assistance to India through our International Military Education and Training Program or IMET. India benefits from one of the largest and longest-standing IMET programs, graduating more than 1,700 Indian officers since the program’s initiation more than forty years ago. In FY 2011, more than 51 Indian officers came to the United States to attend courses through the IMET program. The linkages established through IMET also help build personal relationships between officer corps, which helps bolster our relationship over long term, as well as helps professionalize partner militaries. This is all achieved for a little more than one million dollars per year. A major area of discussion during our talks was the issue of piracy emanating from Somalia. Somali pirates have expanded their range of operations all the way to the coast of India, creating a real security challenge for India and for the international community. My Bureau coordinates the U.S. counter-piracy response and we discussed ways we can together improve the international response to piracy. India has been an important contributor to the international effort. Since 2006, we have expanded our maritime cooperation with India, as we see counter-piracy as an area where we can work together closely.
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