WASHINGTON, Sept 16: A US demand that India should disclose deployment plans for weapons it wants to buy from Washington could strain defence ties between the two countries, diplomatic sources indicated on Tuesday.
Sources said that India is unlikely to accept such a demand, which does not only go against New Delhi’s independent defence policy but will also cause problems for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party if it is accepted.
Some of the parties in the ruling alliance already feel uncomfortable with close ties between the United States and India. Any thought of sharing Indian defence plans with the United States would be unacceptable to them, they added.
Some defence experts said the problem could also delay the sale of some US weapons to India. The immediate victim could be the sale of P-3 Orion maritime surveillance aircraft, which India plans to buy.
Sources said Washington conveyed its demand to India during the joint Defence Policy Group meeting in Washington Aug 6-7. Western observers in Washington said they did not see this dispute as causing any serious damage to defence ties between India and the US.
“It is not something the two sides cannot resolve amicably,” said one Western defence expert, adding that the Bush administration apparently is a little concerned about the impact its growing defence ties with India might have on Pakistan.
US officials, particularly some in the Pentagon, still see Pakistan as an important ally in the war against terrorism and do not want to annoy it by being too close to India.
