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WASHINGTON, Jan 16: Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes begins a visit to Washington on Thursday amidst reports that the United States may try to persuade Israel to delay transfer of sophisticated military technology to India.
India is reported to have contracted to buy the Phalcon radar system from Israel, and the US is concerned that any such transfer at this time may add to the tensions between Pakistan and India that Washington is trying hard to lessen.
US Undersecretary John Bolton began a visit to Israel on Wednesday to discuss non-proliferation issues as part of what is described as regular US-Israel consultations, and the radar sale issue is also likely to come up in the talks.
State Department spokesman Philip Reeker told the department’s briefing on Tuesday that the US supported the sale of the Phalcon radars to India, but would continue to have discussions with Israel on the “capabilities and timing related to that”.
This is being seen by some India-watchers here as putting a positive spin on US wish that the transfer should be delayed for the time being so as not to add fresh strains on the already unstable security environment in South Asia.
Mr Reeker said the US was discussing and consulting further with Israel about the proposed transfer, including “the system’s capabilities and the timing.”
QUESTION: When you say you consult on timing, I assume that you wouldn’t want this to happen while India and Pakistan are on the brink of going to war.
REEKER: I think certainly we always encourage other countries, including Israel, to take into account the impact of their weapons’ sales. And so while we have these consultations, I am not aware of any particular timeframe. The established timing and, as I said, the capabilities are the subjects that we would have in terms of consultations, and that may be part of what Under Secretary Bolton can raise when he is out there.
Indian defence minister is visiting Washington at the invitation of Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and will also meet National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. Indian Home Minister Lal Krishan Advani has just completed an official visit to the US during which he also had a meeting with President George Bush.
