US general’s visit raises hopes on end to sanctions

Gaurav C Sawant

New Delhi, May 27: Marking the resumption of formal military ties between India and the US, General Henry Shelton, chairman of joint chiefs of staff, is visiting New Delhi on June 1.

‘‘His visit will signal the end of the post-Pokharan chill between the US and India and we also hope to resume the Defence Policy Group (DPG), experts steering group interactions. Of course, his day-long visit will only be an exploratory one,’’ an official in the Ministry of Defence said.

Shelton, apart from meeting Defence Minister Jaswant Singh, will also meet Admiral Sushil Kumar, Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee, his main host. He will also be meeting Army chief General S. Padmanabhan and Air Chief Marshal A.Y. Tipnis. ‘‘The US has been appreciative of our stance on the nuclear missile defence (NMD) plan. But what we are keen on exploring is whether we can revive the DPG which had been set up in 1995 after the visit of William Perry,’’ he added. The US has renewed interest in Asia, as pronounced in the proposed American defence review, which seeks to shift focus from Europe to Asia, sources said.

During his tenure as Army chief, Gen V.P. Malik, while visiting the US, had held an informal meeting with Shelton, a special forces Ranger. ‘‘We hope that the DPG and the meeting of the experts’ steering group where the vice-chiefs of the three services interact with their US counterparts in the Pacific command, would resume. The meeting could also lead to more military-to-military cooperation, increased training courses and if not immediately then later, equipment for the forces,’’ Gen Malik said.

The Air Force hopes the technical assistance for the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) which was held back by the US following the sanctions, will resume. ‘‘The LCA flew on the GE-404 engine. We are testing the Kaveri engine. If the sanctions are lifted soon and technological cooperation begins, we could get the LCA sooner. But this is his first visit. We must not read too much into it as yet,’’ an Air Force official said.

The Navy sees itself assuming the role of a sea police force in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean region. ‘‘Piracy on the high seas is the biggest menace affecting the global economy. We are the biggest Navy in the region and growing. The US has signalled it wants us to play a more dominating role,’’ a naval official said.