US backs India on its demand that Pak should act against

The US today "fully" backed India on its demand that Pakistan should act against terrorists operating from sanctuaries on its soil with US Secretary of State John Kerry asserting that his country "stands in strong partnership with India" against all terrorism.
Terrorism, more specifically that emanating from Pakistan, figured prominently in marathon talks between Kerry and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who briefed him extensively on the "continuing problem of cross-border terrorism that India and the larger region face from Pakistan".
At a joint press conference with Kerry after the 2nd Indo- US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue (S&CD), Swaraj said, "We reaffirmed the urgent necessity for Pakistan to dismantle safe havens for terrorists and criminal networks including Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and D Company.

"Secretary Kerry and I also agreed on the need for Pakistan to do more to bring the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai and 2016 Pathankot terrorist attacks to justice quickly."
The future of the two foundational agreements --
Communications and Information Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA); Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) for Geospatial Intelligence -- are part of the four foundational agreements being pushed by the US for more than a decade now as part of its efforts to enhance defence ties with India.

Of the four agreements, General Security Of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) was signed in 2002 while the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) was signed yesterday.

LEMOA only provides an additional means to fund necessary support and requires the approval of both countries on a case-by-case basis.
For example, during a bilateral exercise with the US, the participant country's unit requires fuel for its equipment.
The unit cannot make the purchase unless it can pay directly and immediately.
A LEMOA agreement allows for the purchase by establishing a value for the purchase and the terms for payment, which could be replacement-in-kind or an equal-value exchange, Carter said.
Carter said India's designation as a 'major defence partner' would allow the US to cooperate with it -- in both strategic and technological domains -- at par with its closet and most long-standing allies.

"First of all with respect to the major defence partnership agreement, that is a very substantial change. It's an enormous change from 50 years of history. And a very substantial advance over just a few months ago," Carter said.
In June when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited US and met President Barack Obama, the country had designated India as a 'major defence partner'.
"The Indian government sent us before our meeting today a very lengthy, detailed and we thought very constructive paper about how to implement the major defence partnership understanding. That's an excellent basis for the implementation of the major defence partnership," Carter said.

The major defence partnership designation, has "knocked down" the previous barriers that came in the way of defence, strategic co-operation including co-production, co-development projects and exercises, he said.
Parrikar said US is one of India's primary sources of defence equipment, and while it has shared some of its cutting-edge platforms, he would like to take this forward to greater collaborative projects.
The two leaders, he said, decided to significantly expand the scope and activities of Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI).
Carter said the designation builds on the success of last year's framework for the US-India defence relationship.
Terming terrorism as a "key challenge to the international

community, and the foremost threat to international peace and security", Swaraj noted that there was a "meeting of minds" on this issue between the two sides.
Asserting that they have interacted with Pakistan in one way or the other, Kerry said, "I have recently spoke to the Prime Minister and General Raheel Sharif regarding the need for Pakistan to deprive any group sanctuaries...
"It is well known that the Haqqani network and others operated out of the western part of the country. LeT, we all know and we all spoken out against had an impact on India, directly.
"It is vital that Pakistan join with other nations in tackling this challenge, and in fairness, in recent weeks and months they have been moving more authoritatively."

Today's Dialogue comes in the backdrop of unrest in Kashmir with India alleging Pakistan's involvement in it.
Apart from counter-terrorism, the two sides during the Dialogue, which was also co-chaired by Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, discussed issues of commercial, regional and international interests.
Asked by an American journalist about the tension between India and Pakistan and when the dialogue between the two will resume, Swaraj made it clear that "terror and talks will not go hand in hand".
She said India remained ready to have talks with Pakistan but there were legitimate expectations that it will act against terror groups which were carrying out attacks against India including the Pathankot one. "And the talks can only resume if these expectations were met," she added.

Kerry had earlier met National Security Advisor Ajit Doval during which issue of Pak-sponsored terrorism was discussed.
India and the US also agreed to restart a three-way dialogue with Afghanistan next month on the sidelines of the UN Genreal Assembly in New York and signed an agreement to combat and counter cyber attacks.
Asked if the close consultation with India on Afghanistan under the trilateral framework may result in Pakistan feeling isolated, Kerry said US appreciates India's involvement in the war-torn country and Pakistan will not feel isolated but encouraged and workout a roadmap for itself in that country.
Swaraj also thanked Secretary Kerry for his reiteration

of continued US support to India's membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and permanent membership of the UN Security Council.
"We both agreed that India's enhanced global role is in mutual interest," she said.
US has been playing a lead role in supporting India's bid in the 48-member group and today discussion on pushing India's case comes ahead of the next month's meeting between the top disarmament officials of India and China, which had scuttled New Delhi's bid at the Plenary Session of NSG in June.
They also had a detailed exchange of views on climate change and clean energy issues with both the countries affirming high importance to the full implementation of the Paris Agreement.

"We have agreed to scale up our collaboration in clean energy and to quickly operationalise the various initiatives that were announced during Prime Minister's visit to facilitate investments in this sector from US into India. We look forward to working with the US to ensure the success of the International Solar Alliance," Swaraj said.
She also said that they have agreed to work together on the implementation of Agenda 2030, through its 17 Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs).
The SDGs are entirely consistent with many of our Government's flagship domestic initiatives such as Skill India, Make in India and Swachch Bharat.
Given the fact that we account for 1/6th of humanity, success or failure in realising Agenda 2030 or fulfilling the SDGs, will depend on the success achieved in India.
Swaraj also sought Secretary Kerry's support for resolution of long-pending issues of tantalisation and the fee hike for H1B and L1 visa that impact our people-to-people exchanges, which was a vital source of strength for our relationship.
She also said they have decided to widen the consultations to more effectively address the rapidly evolving regional and global situation.
"We will hold consultations on Africa and on multilateral issues within this year. We have also strengthened our cooperation in the area of peacekeeping. In this context, we recently launched the first UN Peacekeeping Course for African partners in New Delhi.
"We have agreed to strengthen our cooperation in the area of maritime security. Our Trilateral with Japan has moved from dialogue into action in key areas of regional connectivity," Swaraj added.