Stronger India-U.S. Ties Critical For World Peace: Hagel

NEW DELHI: U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called for stronger defence cooperation between India and the U.S., and said Washington was supportive of India playing a larger role in regional security.

In a talk at the silver jubilee function of the Observer Research Foundation (ORF)here, Hagel referred to ties with China and said both India and the U.S. should "avoid traps of rivalry" in their ties with Beijing.

He invited India to an expanded trilateral cooperation with the U.S. and Japan and said that bureaucratic red tape should not be allowed to hamper their expanded defence cooperation.

"A stronger U.S.-India partnership is critical for sustained peace and prosperity around the globe. There is bipartisan support in the U.S. for stronger India-U.S. relations," Hagel said.

"As our interests align, so should our armed forces. Increased investment towards defence industrial partnership with India is the way of going forward. A robust defence partnership and joint military capabilities are to be the cornerstone of Indo-U.S. relationship," he said.

He said the challenge before both nations was to "seize the opportunities before us".

"Bureaucratic red tape - within either of our governments - must not bound the limits of our partnership and initiatives," he stressed.

The U.S. defense secretary said security interests of the U.S. and India converge as "India continues to look east and the U.S. pursues strategic re-balance. These things headline the convergence of interests of our two nations".

"U.S.-India defence cooperation is top priority," he said, adding that the Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) was the "centrepiece of our defence cooperation, and I am committed to enhancing it".

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