COMMANDER USPACOM MEETS DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 003017

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/20/2030
TAGS: MARR MOPS PREL PTER IN
SUBJECT: COMMANDER USPACOM MEETS DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY
ADVISOR

Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES ROBERT O. BLAKE.

Summary: (C) India's Deputy National Security Advisor
Ambassador Vijay Nambiar explains the focus of Wen Jiabao's
visit to India. Nambiar considers the present a time of
great opportunities in US-India relations. India is studying
the US offer of military equipment and technology transfer.
India hopes a pattern of high level regular exchanges between
China and India become the norm. India and China have
exchanged maps on Line of Actual Control(LAC),however, no
common agreement has been reached on the LAC. India sets goal
of 30 billion USD in trade with China by 2010. End Summary.


1. (C) On 13 April 2005, Commander USPACOM met with Deputy
National Security Advisor Ambassador Vijay Nambiar at the
NSA's conferencing facility at the Cabinet Secretariat
Building. Nambiar was joined by 10 members of the National
Security Counsel. Also attending the meeting were PACOM
staff, USDATT, and DCM Blake.


2. (C) An affable Nambiar welcomed USPACOM Commander and his
staff and reminisced about his time as India's Ambassador to
China and his close personal relationship with then US
Ambassador/Former USCINCPAC Admiral Joseph Prueher. Nambiar
apologized on behalf of National Security Advisor Narayanan
for Narayanan not being available to meet the Commander,
explaining that Narayanan was completely tied up with the
visit of China's Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. Nambiar opened
by offering his views on the healthy state of Indo-US
relations, reminding that India's Foreign Minister Natwar
Singh was in the US, that Transportation Secretary Minetta
was in India for the Open Skies Agreement, that Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh would visit the US in July, and that
POTUS would hopefully visit India by the end of the year.
According to Nambiar, this is a time of great opportunities
in our relations. Indo-US cooperation during tsunami relief
operations was a very valuable experience. India is now
studying the US offer of military equipment and technology
transfer, said Nambiar. India is focused on developments in
East Asia, especially relations between China and Japan, he
said. Nambiar stated that India has been engaging in maritime
cooperation with Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, and
asked Commander USPACOM how these nations view bilateral
military relations between India and the US.


3. (C) Commander USPACOM recounted that he and Admiral
Prueher go back many years and that, unfortunately, the
paucity of time necessitates that perhaps a longer discussion
between PACOM and India's NSC should be arranged. Commander
USPACOM briefly described PACOM's area of responsibilities,
talked briefly about the Japan-US relationship, and the US
approach to world wide terrorism. Maritime cooperation in
this region holds great opportunity, with many mutual
benefits, explained Commander USPACOM.


4. (C) Nambiar underscored that the month of April continues
to be a very hectic period for India's foreign policy
establishment with the visits of China's Premier, Pakistan's
President, and Japan's Prime Minister. On the visit of
Premier Wen Jiabao, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took
considerable responsibility for the inputs, as he himself
identified the visit as of great importance, according to
Nambiar. The last high level exchange, Nambiar explained, was
when India's Prime Minister Vajpayee visited China June 2003.
Nambiar explained that India hoped this would set a pattern
of regular exchanges of leaders between both nations.


5. (C) Nambiar explained that Wen Jiabao's current visit to
India is set against the backdrop of a desire to improve
economic and trade relations. Back in 1998 India and China
decided not to let the long standing contentious issues get
in the way of improving relations in other areas such as
trade and commerce. As such, these issues were agreed to be
set aside and not create an impasse. According to Nambiar,
China's security concerns are directed eastwards where China
has major anxieties. China also is concerned with separatist
issues in XingJang province and political problems in Tibet.
Regarding Sino-Indian relations, Nambiar explained that the
peace and tranquility agreement remains in effect, despite
not having solved the boundary issues. Two major agreements
were signed in 1993 and 1996 and now India and China are
trying to implement these agreements. However, at present
there is no common agreement on the Line of Actual Control
(LAC). India and China are in the process of exchanging maps
on the contentious middle-sector. On the other two sectors in
the West and East, there are still differences in
perspectives on identifying the LAC. The Chinese still go
back to 6th Nov 1959 as their perspective, which ties up
negotiations. Nambiar explained that India hoped to move
these negotiations onto the political level. China and India
have agreed to have meetings between political
representatives in working groups to resolve these issues.
India and China have entered a new strategic relationship,
said Nambiar. China has been laying emphasis on this
element, namely "Strategic Relations." However, India would
like to go beyond mere words to create some substantive
outputs. India desires to focus on trade relations with a
goal to double trade to about 20 billion USD in the next few
years and to 30 billion by 2010, he said.

Comments:

1. Nambiar is gracious, intelligent, and was apologetic that
his boss, Mr Narayanan was not available to meet Commander
USPACOM. What was set up as a 30 minute courtesy call, turned
into a potential two hour round table discussion with
Nambiar, who assembled his entire NSC staff, and they were
eager to engage Commander USPACOM on a variety of subjects.

2. Nambiar, recently named as Deputy National Security
Adviser, is a senior member of the Indian Foreign Service.
Prior to his current assignment, he was Permanent
Representative to the UN, and High Commissioner in Islamabad.
He was recalled from Islamabad after the December 2001
terrorist attack on Parliament, and was appointed as India,s
Permanent Representative to the United Nations in April 2002.
Nambiar,s appointment as Deputy NSA was seen as a coup for
the Indian Foreign Service, which was disappointed not to
have a career diplomat named as NSA to succeed JN Dixit.

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