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Feb 27 2008

Gates in India for arms talks

Global

By Agencies

The proposed deal would prove India with 126 multi-role fighter jets [AFP file]

Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, has visited India for talks on military deals including a possible $10.2 billion fighter jet purchase.

Gates met Manmohan Singh, the Indian prime minister, in New Delhi to discuss the jets, which could be provided by US arms manufacturers Boeing Corporation and Lockheed Martin.

However, the US faces competition over the deal for 126 multi-role fighter jets from Russia, France, Sweden and a European consortium.

"The defence-trader relationship is growing ... there are a number of areas in which there is potential for co-operation," Gates said on Tuesday.

Earlier this month India agreed to buy six Lockheed Martin military transport planes worth about $1 billion.

The deal marked a major shift in military policy for India, which has traditionally looked to Russia for arms and aircraft.

Gates is currently on an eight-day global tour, visiting Australia, Indonesia and Turkey in addition to India.

Nuclear controversy

The discussions come despite talks stalling between the two nations on a landmark nuclear co-operation deal which would reverse decades of US anti-proliferation policy with a nation that has tested nuclear weapons and refused to sign non-proliferation treaties.

The agreement permits the US to send nuclear fuel and technology to India, which in turn would separate its military and civilian nuclear programmes and allow international inspections at civilian facilities.

However the agreement ran into stiff opposition in India and the US, with members of US Congress and India's communist parties expressing anger at the deal.

Some Indians worry that it would allow the US to exert influence over their country's foreign policy, while in the US officials have expressed concern that it could lead to India's increasing its nuclear weapons supply.