India, US ink logistics pact to cement defence ties
washington — India and the US on Monday signed a historic agreement on sharing logistics, with both Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter clarifying that it will not involve setting up of military bases.
The Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (Lemoa) was “in principal” agreed on during Carter’s visit to India in April.
The two sides also discussed India’s “Major Defence Partner” designation, which was announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington in June, and the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) between the two countries.
A joint statement issued by the US Department of Defence after the meeting said both “welcomed the signing of the bilateral Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (Lemoa), which will facilitate additional opportunities for practical engagement and exchange”.
Talking about the Lemoa in a joint press conference, Carter said it will be a “very substantial enabler” for the two countries to work together. “I want to make clear what it does is make possible and make easier op- erating together when we choose to. It doesn’t by itself create those agreements,” he said.
He added that decisions on operating together will be taken on case by case basis. “When they do agree it makes all much more smoother,” he said. Parrikar also clarified that the agreement will not involve in setting up bases. “It does not have anything to do with setting up bases. It is for logistics support to each other ... Like supply of fuel, supply of any other things that are required for joint operations, humanitarian assistance and many other,” he said.
The Indian Defence Ministry, meanwhile, said on Tuesday that the newly-inked agreement will work only on mutual consent, and reiterated that it does not provide for setting up of bases or an obligation to carry out joint activities. —