TMCnet News
Air Force hosting training exercises with allies(Associated Press WorldStream Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) LAS VEGAS_The Air Force was expected to begin military training exercises above the Nevada desert with pilots from India on Monday, marking another step in steadily improving relations between the two countries since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Air Force officials said South Korean and French pilots would also take part in the realistic combat exercises that will put about 65 airplanes in the skies over two weeks. It brings India's pilots to the United States for training for the first time. "This particular Air Force exercise is important because India is included among some very important allies," said Christine Fair, a South Asia specialist at the RAND Corp. "This is definitely an extension of an arc that has been mapped out since 2000, and it really signifies that what India and the United States have is a strategic relationship." The Indian and U.S. militaries had little interaction during the Cold War, when India was closer to the Soviet Union and the United States was seen as allied with India's neighbor and rival, Pakistan. But relations have steadily grown better, with increasing political, economic and military ties. The Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States and the subsequent fight against terrorism brought the two sides even closer. Ties have expanded rapidly since then, with a series of joint exercises in the air, on land and at sea. Analysts believe that the U.S. is eager to use India as a counter to China in the region. "The United States is very keen that India become important," Fair said. "India's going to be doing what it wants to do in the area that China thinks is important and a more capable, strong India will be able to prevent Chinese hegemony more so than a weak India." India is also extremely worried about China's growing military and political influence in the region and has upped its military spending. Capt. Marcus Wilson, team chief for the exercises, said it was not designed to combat any specific country or threat, but are designed to test how the forces would work together during large scale missions. "We will learn how our allies operate in response to similar threats," Wilson said in a statement. "It will allow us to build observations to eventually learn those lessons about what it takes to integrate, talk, fly with, employ, deploy and sustain air power with places like India, Korea and France." Wilson said more than 1,000 people would participate in the simulations of various exercises, from bomb-dropping to hostage rescue. Dr. Jing-dong Yuan, a nonproliferation expert at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, said North Korea would most likely have the strongest negative reaction to the joint exercises. "Pyongyang, through its state-run news agency, the Korean Central News Agency, has consistently and passionately criticized such ventures accusing the United States of harboring hostile intentions toward North Korea," Yuan said. "Beijing would likely remain reticent (about) such training since it does not see itself as directly and imminently affected by such activities." U.S. firms are also eager to get a share of the arms market in India, where Russia has long been the prime supplier. India has already agreed to buy six of Lockheed's C-130J Hercules airlift aircraft for roughly $1 billion. American companies are eagerly eyeing a lucrative $10 billion deal to supply 126 fighters _ which features bids from major U.S. defense contractors Boeing Corp. and Lockheed Martin. Relations between the two countries have been further strengthened by the India-U.S. nuclear deal. The accord would reverse three decades of U.S. policy by shipping atomic fuel and technology to India in return for international inspections on India's civilian, but not its military, reactors. India recently managed to push ahead with the deal despite widespread local opposition, particularly from the strong communist parties that oppose closer ties with the U.S. ___ Associated Press writer Gavin Rabinowitz contributed to this report from New Delhi. Copyright ? 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |