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India 'lynchpin' for US in Asia

Panetta says both countries must overcome differences over Pakistan

AFP, New Delhi
Pentagon chief Leon Panetta yesterday vowed to expand defence ties between India and the United States, saying New Delhi was a "lynchpin" in a new US military strategy focused on Asia.
At a think-tank in the Indian capital Panetta was expected to say, according to prepared comments, that military ties had dramatically improved over the past decade.
But he was due to say more work was needed to ensure the two countries could safeguard the "crossroads" of the global economy spanning the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific.
"For this relationship to truly provide security for this region and for the world, we will need to deepen our defence and security cooperation.
"This is why I have come to India, ” Panetta was to tell an audience at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.
Panetta's two-day visit to New Delhi is part of a tour of the region that reflects Washington's shift to the Asia-Pacific in the face of a rising China, with US officials portraying India as an anchor for the new approach.
In his talks with Defence Minister AK Antony, Panetta discussed Nato's planned withdrawal of combat forces from Afghanistan by the end of 2014 as well expanding arms sales and joint military training between the two countries.
The United States favoured a more active role for India in Afghanistan, Panetta was to say in his speech.
Having overcome suspicions from the Cold War-era, "our two nations have finally and irreversibly
started anew chapter of our history," he said.
Panetta, who met with Indian leaders on Tuesday and yesterday, said he believed the relationship "can and should become more strategic, more practical, and more collaborative."
He said a new US strategy sought to "expand our military partnerships and our presence in the arc extending from the Western Pacific and East Asia into the Indian Ocean region and South Asia."
"Defence cooperation with India is a lynchpin
in this strategy."
Panetta called for more joint research and production efforts, expanding military exercises and for both countries to tackle legal dilemmas posed by space weapons and cyber warfare.
Security ties with India have steadily improved but US officials have yet to realise the goal of a game-changing partnership that could check China's role and empower the two countries' economies, analysts say.
India favours improving military ties with the United States but does not want to become a full-fledged US ally, preferring a degree of breathing space, analysts say.
A day after al-Qaeda's number two leader was killed in a drone strike in Pakistan, Panetta acknowledged that both India and the United States faced difficulties with Islamabad.
"Pakistan is a complicated relationship for both of our countries, but one that we must work to improve," he said.
He said he welcomed initial steps taken by India and Pakistan to normalise trade ties.
The US tilt towards Asia — including closer ties to New Delhi -- is widely seen as a response to China's growing military and economic might, particularly in the South China Sea.
Panetta said both the United States and India wanted to see Beijing play a prominent role in the region.
Earlier on his nine-day tour through Asia, Panetta unveiled plans to shift the majority of the US naval fleet to the Pacific by 2020, a symbolic step meant to signal US determination to preserve its influence in the face of a rising China.