Delhi’s deal may irk neighbours: Chinese media

In an editorial written ahead of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter signing a logistics agreement, state-run Global Times said India may lose strategic independence if it leans towards the US.

The Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) allows India and US militaries to access each other’s military facilities for refuelling and replenishment. “This is undoubtedly a leap forward in US-India military cooperation. US media highly applauded this deal, with Forbes hailing it as a ‘war pact’ and believing that India is shifting away from Russia, its Cold War ally, toward a new alliance with the US,” the editorial said. 

“If India hastily joins the US alliance system, it may irritate China, Pakistan or even Russia. It may not make India feel safer, but will bring strategic troubles to itself and make itself a centre of geopolitical rivalries in Asia,” it said. “India holds dear its independence and sovereignty after squeezing out of the UK’s colonialism,” the editorial said. 

While India has adopted a prudent attitude so far refraining from joining US alliance, some defence analysts expressed worries that India may lose strategic independence and warned that the pact may render New Delhi a “follower” of Washington, it said.