Panetta to meet Antony, push India to buy US military gear

New Delhi: India and the US will cover familiar ground when US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta calls on India’s Defence Minster AK Antony today. Panetta is expected to underscore the US desire to partner with India as it shifts its security and strategic focus towards Asia, but Antony is expected to stonewall, not wanting to be drawn into any alliance that is seen to be aimed at China. While Panetta will push for a more assertive Indian role in Afghanistan, India is concerned about the implications of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan by 2014, America’s the secret talks with the Taliban and Pakistan’s role. [caption id=“attachment_333490” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during a meeting at the Prime Minister’s office in New Delhi. AP”]  [/caption]Panetta will also push India to buy more US military equipment and about $8 billion is now in the pipeline. But the elimination of US fighters from the MMRCA competiton has shocked and angered Washington. The Pentagon on Tuesday said that India is a global power and is meeting its responsibilities in this capacity. It refuted reports that Panetta’s call for deeper involvement in Afghanistan is not “potentially provocative” against Pakistan. “India is a global power and they are meeting their responsibilities and we welcome that,” Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt John Kirby told reporters. Responding to questions at a Pentagon news conference, Kirby said Panetta during his ongoing India visit expressed his gratitude for what India has done in Afghanistan and hoped that they will continue to stay engaged in the region, and in particular in helping Afghanistan as it moves forward. Kirby said the reports that Panetta asked India to step up its efforts in Afghanistan is slightly exaggerated. “I think the reports have been slightly exaggerated. I don’t believe the Secretary asked them to or pressed them to do more, rather than expressed how much he appreciated the work they were doing to help provide support in Afghanistan and some of the things that they have expressed interest in continuing to do in Afghanistan, but also in the region,” he said. “I think it was really more a statement of appreciation for everything they’ve done and the hope that they’ll continue to stay involved as a leader in the region. It is a vital part of the world. And our engagement in the region is not about bilateral relations only with any one particular country. We’ve long said that security in Afghanistan is tied very closely to our relationship with Pakistan, as it is also with our relationship with other countries in the region, including India,” Kirby said. The US, he said, encourages all countries in the region, which came out of the Chicago summit, and around the world to continue to do more to invest in Afghanistan’s future. “There was broad consensus at the Chicago summit by every nation attending to do just that. But to characterize this – the Secretary’s visit to India as some sort of poke in the chest to get them to do more would be to do his visit a disservice. That’s not why he’s in India,” he said. “He’s in India to thank them for their efforts at regional leadership and to look for ways to deepen our defence cooperation with India and our relationship with India. That is something he would like to do more of. But we’re very appreciative of India’s efforts in the region and in Afghanistan in particular,” Kirby said. With inputs from PTI