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Washington: Though
disappointed at India's rejection of Washington's bid to supply a
new generation of fighter jets, the United States has said it
would continue to grow and develop its defence partnership with
India. The New York Times described the decision as a "blow" for
President Barack Obama.
"We are deeply disappointed by this news but we look forward to
continuing to grow and develop our defence partnership with
India," Pentagon spokesperson Col Dave Lapan said Thursday after
New Delhi informed US of its decision..
The US, he said, "remain convinced that the United States offers
our defence partners around the globe the world's most advanced
and reliable technology."
India earlier informed manufacturers of US Lockheed Martin F 16 IN
and Boeing F/A 18 In that they have not made it in the technical
evaluation trials for a Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) for the
Indian Air Force.
In a report from New Delhi, The New York Times described India's
decision as "a blow for President (Barack) Obama, who had pushed
hard for this and other defence deals during his visit to India in
November as part of his agenda to deepen and broaden the United
States' relationship with India."
"While political and economic relations between India and the
United States have been warming for years, American arms makers
have struggled to win big contracts" in New Delhi, it said..
"After decades of frosty relations during the cold war, which
pushed India to rely extensively on the Soviet Union for military
hardware, many in the Indian defence establishment are still wary
of American intentions and United States military aid to Pakistan,
India's main adversary," Times said.
In Washington, Ashley Tellis, a Carnegie Endowment scholar who
authored a 140-page report titled "Dogfight" on the India's MRCA
decision, said: "There is an acute sense of disappointment in the
US government about this decision."
"As best I can tell, the downselect was made entirely on the basis
of the technical evaluations - the cost of the aircraft or the
strategic considerations did not enter into the picture," he said.
In his report, Tellis had argued "having an American airplane in
the IAF livery would simply be transformative for bilateral
defence relations and it would send an important signal about the
changing geopolitical dynamics in South Asia."
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)
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