(As prepared)
It is a pleasure to be back in India to be discussing Indian Defence Diplomacy with Admiral Mehta.
It was only a few years ago that I was here with his predecessor as Chairman , Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Malik, as we took the first halting steps in building the operational military relationship between the United States and India. Now Indian and American naval forces have conducted Malabar exercises together, Indian and American fighter pilots have flown together in Cope India, and soon Red Flag exercises on the western ranges in the United States, and American troops have conducted a counterinsurgency exercise with Indian counterparts in exercise Shatrujeet in Mizoram.
(As Admiral Mehta stated), its widening relations with the United States are a part of a more general broadening of Indian military relations with many other countries, including Australia, Japan, and China. Indian defence diplomacy is widespread and active.
This morning I would like to sketch out the future direction for our military relations that I believe is in the interests of both India and the United States, and for Asia.
Yesterday morning Prime Minister Singh told us quite emphatically that India was committed both to enjoying the benefits and shouldering the responsibilities of membership in the global economic system.
There is also a global security system, and India can be committed both to the benefits of that system, and can shoulder the responsibilities of providing it.
Since the end of the post-colonial wars in Asia, it has been the United States armed forces that have provided much of the common goods of a calm security environment - with legacy flashpoints like Korea and Taiwan contained, with the sea lanes safe, with the American network of alliances, friendly relationships and military exercises providing reassurance, Asian countries have not felt the need to seek security through heavy expenditures on armaments or to seek security in opposing coalitions. On the basis of this American provided security foundation, many countries in Asia have pursued the economic betterment of their people's lives, strengthening the rule of law, and representative governments.
In recent years, major Asian countries including India are becoming more economically prosperous, and their potential for allocating more resources to defense, and their national sense that they should do so are rising.
Some see the seeds of an arms competition here in Asia, a scramble for unilateral advantage, and a jostling rivalry of gunboat diplomacy or worse.
By contrast, I see another path, one that is more analogous to the economic sphere, in which transactions can be win/win, not zero sum, and all can benefit together.
The common goods of a peaceful and resilient security environment can be increased and strengthened by rising countries combining their military strength to support the common goals of deterring cross-border aggression, maintaining sea lane security, assisting other countries who lack the capacity to bring lawless parts of their territory under sovereign control, responding to natural and man-made disasters that strike the region, and, on occasion, under international mandate in multilateral formations, restoring order and prosperity to countries falling into chaos and causing great suffering.
If India - as well as China and Japan - choose this path, then their increasing military capabilities are instruments of both national and common benefit. The armed forces of these countries will find a ready partner in the United States, which is more than happy to share these responsibilities with others. Habits of military cooperation will also dampen suspicions of unilateral ambitions and help keep in check tendencies towards seeking military advantage for unilateral national purposes.
Let me turn now to the Indian-American military relationship in particular. I mentioned at the outset the growth in activity in recent years. However I must say that the activity has been generic and without a focused policy content.
It has been good for American and Indian pilots to fly against each other and then brag in the bar about their exploits - and I have to say that not all the bragging has been on the American side.
It is wonderful to participate in anniversary fleet reviews, when ships line up in long columns and steam past distinguished guests.
However for the long term, the armed forces of two countries must base their military relationship on the military operations that they are likely to conduct together - they must define the common political objectives of their countries that military forces contribute to and then plan and practice them together.
The United States and India have not moved to this level of a military relationship, and I believe it is time to do so. Let me suggest four areas that I think are the enduring common missions of the future that our armed forces should pursue:
First, maritime security. The United States Navy has recently published a maritime strategy explaining the concept of the "thousand-ship Navy." The concept calls for all responsible maritime nations - and coast guards - to pool their resources in making the seas safe for lawful commerce and other use. The concept calls for common action against pirates, smugglers, arms proliferators, and nations that threaten commerce.
India and the United States, along with other seafaring nations, have a lot of work to do together to turn this concept into reality. The Indian Ocean is bounded by two straits that are important to the world's economy - Hormuz to the west and Malacca to the east. Safe passage through these restricted sealanes is the responsibility of the littoral nations, and in Malacca, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore have taken steps in the right direction. The United States, India and other seafaring nations have assisted on occasion. The situation in Hormuz is more complicated; in fact there have been attacks on strait-bound shipping in the past by littoral nations. It is in the interests of all nations to ensure that these narrow passages are safe, underwritten by the collective maritime capabilities of local littoral and outside seafaring nations.
There are other similar maritime challenges in the region:
-Off Somalia pirates shake down merchantmen and fishermen;
-Arms cross the Andaman Sea from the Thai isthmus to Sri Lanka, fuel the cruel insurgency there;
-In the water space south of the Philippines, pirates, arms smugglers and terrorists threaten lives and plot atrocities.
There is plenty of work for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard, the Indian Navy and the sea services of many other countries in making these waterways safe.
Second, peacekeeping operations. India has a long and proud peacekeeping tradition, one that includes many successes and some notable disasters. The United States, too has deployed forces many times to restore order and prosperity, and has its share of successes and failures. The current deployment in Iraq, largely unilateral, is an exception in the history of American involvement in troubled countries. Generally the United States has deployed in coalitions, and under UN mandates.
I would point to Africa - perhaps starting in the Horn of Africa - as a good initial area of focus. The United States has just established a new organization - Africa Command - that combines military and civilian agencies that will work in Africa. India has interests, experience and proximity.
By working together, I do not mean simply tactical exercises at peacekeeping centers. I mean serious discussions of strengthening the world's peacekeeping capabilities, from the understaffed and often inept UN DPKO to new forms of international peacekeeping. I mean serious discussions of the relationship between military forces in peacekeeping and non-military organizations, official and non-official. Afghanistan today is a good place to start, where the United States has both military and civil teams helping that country, and India has a strong commitment of civil reconstruction teams.
Third, counterinsurgency and counter terrorist training. India in Jammu and Kashmir and the United States in Afghanistan and Iraq are facing fundamentalist Islamic terrorists who probably trained at some of the same centers. To combat them effectively, we should share our experience and trade our skills. There are of course many policy questions to be worked out between the two countries if we were to conduct a joint counterterror operation. However there is much that can be done between us to ensure that we benefit from one another's best practices, and that units are ready should the two governments decide to conduct a joint operation.
Fourth, humanitarian response. The United States and India both responded to the tragic tsunami that rolled over Aceh and Sri Lanka. We coordinated on the scene. We can do better in terms of prior planning, training together and involving others.
In all these four areas I have mentioned, India and the United States should not be alone. As I said at the outset, these are military activities that contribute to the common good. We should welcome countries like Japan and China, who also have much to contribute.
Before closing, however, I need to mention several specific administrative steps that India and the United States need to make if our military relationship is to proceed to the next level.
There are three very basic and routine agreements that must be signed so that our armed forces can get on with the business of working together.
These are the Mutual Logistic Support Agreement, the Communications Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement, and the End Use Monitoring Agreement.
These are very routine, technical documents that are signed among cooperating armed forces around the world. They allow logisticians, communicators and acquisition officials to do their jobs. In a business situation, any Indian international company would have had a third-level official sign these agreements months ago. Because they are not signed, the Indian-American military relationship is slowed and there are extra expenses involved for India. We need to sign these technical documents and get on with our cooperation.
Let me conclude by emphasizing that I am not naïve in my prescriptions for cooperation. I know full well that American-Indian military cooperation has ramifications for the central Indian military mission of deterring Pakistan; it has ramifications for the important American military mission of deterring the use of force in the Taiwan Strait; it has ramifications for both countries' concerns about China's development.
However it is my belief that these central military missions are legacies of our past to be managed and solved, not threats of the future to be settled by force. The most important military mission of the future is to create a durable and strong security architecture in Asia that can allow all our citizens to prosper and develop to their full individual potentials. I believe that the United States and India, with wise and dedicated leadership, can play a key role in building that future security architecture in Asia.
Thank you.
