Pentagon terms India a “natural ally”

Washington: A United States defence official has described India as a ''natural ally'' adding to the momentum already generated by president Barack Obama's extremely successful visit to Delhi early this month when he declared his country's support for this country's candidacy as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. The official stressed that defence relationship with India is getting stronger.

The state of the defence relationship with India is "very positive and very strong and getting stronger," Michele Flournoy, the undersecretary of defense for policy, said in an interview to the American Forces Press Service.

Flournoy said that India, the second-most populated nation in the world after China, was a natural ally to the US. The Indians, she said, want to cooperate with the US as was evident from the fact that the Indian military was frequently conducting exercises with the United States.

Both nations also had a vital exchange programme.

"We're trying to move into areas where we can be more cooperative operationally - like maritime security or humanitarian assistance and disaster relief," she said, adding, "They have a lot of capability and a lot of well-trained people and they are great partners. We are looking to grow that relationship over time."

According to Flournoy, Asia was a strategically important area to the United States in terms of economic prosperity and American growth over time. ''We think as we look out over the 21st century, Asia will be increasingly important and central to our foreign policy,'' she said.

There are a number of unresolved territorial disputes in Asia -– particularly in the South China Sea. ''We don't take any sides in those disputes,'' she said, ''but what we have done is be very clear that we want to see those disputes resolved peacefully and in accordance with international law.''

Interestingly, Obama's Delhi declaration, made before the Indian Parliament, invited India to focus its attention towards the Far East, a clear indication that the USA was interested in challenging any attempted Chinese hegemony in the region and that India would be an important partner in any such calculation.