US embassy cable - 05NEWDELHI6181

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 006181 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
PLEASE PASS SECDEF WASHINGTON DC//USDP DSCA//GENERAL KOHLER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, MNUC, ENRG, EINV, KNNP, MASS, IN, External Political Relations 
SUBJECT: MUKHERJEE AGAIN UNDERLINES VALUE OF US-INDIA 
DEFENSE COOPERATION 
 
REF: A. NEW DELHI 6011 
     B. NEW DELHI 6079 
 
1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: In an otherwise uneventful August 8 
Parliamentary debate on the  US-India Defense Framework, 
Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee signaled strong support for 
burgeoning Indo-American military ties.  Mukherjee responded 
to politically motivated BJP complaints and the usual litany 
of anti-American Communist ideology with a 30-minute speech 
reinforcing the advantages of US-India defense cooperation. 
Stressing that the GOI will never give up its ability to make 
sovereign decisions, he argued that India must not ignore its 
emerging defense requirements and the benefits inherent in 
acquiring advanced American equipment.  END SUMMARY. 
 
RELAX, YOU NERVOUS NELLIES 
-------------------------- 
 
2.  (SBU) Mukherjee expressed his surprise at the political 
and media spotlight on the Defense Framework Agreement, which 
he described as "a broad outline of the Indo-US defense 
relationship."  Allaying Communists concerns about possible 
additional US demands on the Indian military, he assured the 
Parliament that "how this broad outline will actually 
translate into reality will depend on what we want and what 
the US wants."  Mukherjee criticized some MPs for having a 
"complex" about the US and recalled the Congress party's 
historical role in maintaining an independent foreign policy. 
 
BESIDES, LOOK WHAT'S IN IT FOR US 
--------------------------------- 
 
3.  (SBU) Moving on to the advantages of the agreement, 
Mukherjee highlighted its role as an "enabling provision" for 
the Indian military.  He added that "to what extent this 
enabling provision will be advantageous to us will depend on 
what extent we take advantage of it and to what extent 
(America) responds."  He also emphasized how defense 
procurement from the US would open up opportunities for the 
Indian military.  Mukherjee called it his "bounded duty" to 
"explore the possibilities to have the technology which will 
equip (India) to meet its requirements.  To those who 
questioned the dependability of the US as a military 
supplier, he commented that if India "has access to 
technology," then it has "enough brain and competence" to 
"absorb and improve it." 
 
COMMENT: MUKHERJEE PUTS THE US-INDIA DEBATE TO BED 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
4.  (SBU) COMMENT:  After a surprisingly vociferous debate in 
the press upon Mukherjee's return to India, deepened 
strategic ties with the US are now old news.  The Lok Sabha 
statements were relatively stale, most likely because the 
signing was over a month ago and the parties got their 
concerns off their chests in the recent debates over the PM's 
US visit (Reftels).  Mumbai floods, Gurgaon labor unrest, 
cricket and the Nanavati report on the 1984 Sikh riots pushed 
the debate to the back pages of the newspapers.  The UPA did 
a good job of tactically delaying this floor debate until 
even the BJP opposition was bored enough simply to go through 
the motions of a token protest.  In this context, as our MEA 
interlocutors pointed out, Mukherjee's statement was notable 
mainly for his strong endorsement of the advantages that 
India can acquire through defense purchases from the US.  END 
COMMENT. 
BLAKE