NEW DELHI: In a major development, India and the US on Tuesday agreed “in principle” to a logistics exchange agreement to enable both militaries to use each other’s assets and bases for the repair and replenishment of supplies.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and visiting US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter said the agreement did not entail deployment of American troops on Indian soil. The logistics exchange agreement has been hanging fire for 12 years as the UPA government had opposed it for fear India would be seen as a military ally of the US.
Addressing the media after talks with his US counterpart, Parrikar said, “As our engagement deepens, we need to develop practical mechanisms to facilitate such exchanges. In this context, Secretary Carter and I agreed in principle to conclude a Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in the coming months.”
The LEMOA is a tweaked version of the Logistics Support Agreement, which facilitates and provides a framework for logistical support, supplies and services between the US military and the armed forces of partner countries on a reimbursable basis.
The excavated remains of soldiers of a B-24 bomber that had crashed in Arunachal Pradesh during World War II will be sent to the US on Wednesdsay in emotional closure for the families of the fallen men.
Displeasure on F-16 sale to Pakistan
New Delhi: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar expressed India’s displeasure to the US over the sale of F-16 fighter planes to Pakistan even as Washington said the aircraft were meant for anti-terror operations.
Asked what kind of anti-terror role F-16 fighter jets could play, Carter said, “Pakistan has used F-16 in operations in FATA. We have appoved it. We take terrorism emanating from Pakistan very seriously.”
“What we do in Pakistan is directed towards counter-terrorism. We too have suffered from terrorism emanating from the territory, more specifically Afghanistan,” he said.