7-05-05, 11:13 am

Thursday, June 30, 2005 New Delhi

From Solidarity Network

The Communist Party of India expresses its serious concern and disapproves the new framework for the US-India Defense Relationship which was signed by our Defense minister in Washington yesterday.

India and US do not share common perspectives on the issues of political and economic freedom, fighting terrorism, weapons of mass destruction (Iraq as a case) and collaboration in operations (without UN mandate) in third countries. India also cannot and should not join with USA on the question of missile defense system (NMD) that only can serve the imperialist goal of USA and will jeopardize the regional and global security.

According to this framework the strategic relationship only means that India to be part of the US strategies of global policing and undermine its role in international politics and its resolve to promote multilateralism in international relations.

The new framework is bound to drag India into a arms race.

India signing this framework for the defense relationship definitely means compromising our sovereign foreign policy positions and yielding too much to USA.