India, Russia extend military commission tenure till 2020

New Delhi, Sept 29 (PTI) India and Russia Monday decided
to extend the tenure of an inter-governmental commission for
military cooperation by another 10 years to 2020 and inched
closer to resolving Gorshkov aircraft carrier price and T-90
tanks technology transfer issues.

New Delhi and Moscow also decided to form an apex body
headed by the defence secretaries of the two countries to
coordinate operation of several working groups for military
cooperation.

"We have taken an in principle decision to extend the
tenure of the Inter-Governmental Commission (I.G.C.) for
Military and Technical Cooperation by another 10 years to 2020
from 2010, when the current Commission's 10-year term ends,"
Defence Minister A K Antony and his Russian counterpart
Anatoly Serdyukov said at a joint press conference soon after
their annual I.G.C. meeting here.

"The apex body headed by the two defence secretaries will
meet every six months to review the joint working groups'
functioning and to sort out all issues concerning defence
relations," Antony said.


The two Defence Ministers said Indo-Russian military
relations have evolved over the years from "buyer-vendor" to
"partners" for joint development of weapons and equipment.

"It is a major decision. Russia has made a proposal for
extension of the I.G.C. tenure and India will consider it
positively and examine it at the earliest," Antony said.

Stating that New Delhi and Moscow had several working
groups all these years and there was no coordination, he said
the apex body would meet at the earliest in Moscow "well
before the visit of the Russian President to India so we can
move on all issues very fast."

The 8th I.G.C. here also decided to have joint exercises
of the Army, Navy and Air Force on a large scale, not only in
numbers but also in content, to further the military
cooperation between the two countries.

On the Gorshkov aircraft carrier price negotiations,
Antony said discussions were "fruitful and very positive" and
that Russian proposals were examined by India.

"Now the discussions are in an advanced stage and I hope
we will be able to send the proposals to the Cabinet for final
decision," he added.

Russia has been seeking an additional USD 1.2 billion
over and above the USD 1.5 billion for the aircraft carrier
bought by India in 2004 and sent for a refit to the Russian
Sevmash Shipyard.

"The Russians have pointed out that the scope of repair
and refit of the aircraft carrier has increased and as a
result, costs have escalated. Discussions have been going on
in the last few months now," he said.

With the delay in the refit programme, the 44,570-tonne
Kiev Class Gorshkov -- rechristened as I.N.S. Vikramaditya --
is expected to join the Indian Navy service only by 2012.

Noting that the technology transfer for the 1,000 T-90
tanks to be built at the Avadi-based Heavy Vehicles Factory
(H.V.F.) would now "move very fast", Antony said India and
Russia decided at the I.G.C. meeting to soon find a solution
to the issue.

"There are some problems with regard to product support
for the T-90 tanks, which caused a delay in the project," he
added.

India had signed a USD 795 million deal in 2001 with the
Russians to outrightly purchase 347 T-90 tanks to strengthen
the Indian Army's Armoured Vehicles fleet and for licensed
production of 1,000 more tanks at the H.V.F. under a
technology transfer.

When the Serdyukov was asked about Russia leasing out a
nuclear-powered submarine to India, he said: "A lot of things
are being talked about. But we do not really know what it is."

Replying to questions, Serdyukov said the strategic
partnership between India and Russia was "developing
dynamically" and hence the relationship had moved forward over
the years.

Both countries also want to expand the cooperation to
more areas, as both countries want to strengthen their
relations, he said.

The I.G.C. meeting between the two sides was held in
traditional spirit of friendship, and discussed issues of
mutual interest, including ongoing projects for acquisition of
weapons and equipment, joint development and production,
defence research and development, and increased interaction
between the defence forces through military exercises, Defence
Ministry officials said.

They also inked a protocol to give a definite shape to
the increasing military cooperation.