[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 134 (Friday, October 11, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1824]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          U.S.-INDIA RELATIONS

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                            HON. JIM SAXTON

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 10, 2002

  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about one of America's 
key foreign policy priorities in this new era--our relationship with 
India, a democracy with more than one billion people. U.S.-India 
relations continue to expand and to grow deeper in many areas, from 
economic and trade relations, to political and diplomatic ties; from 
the promotion of democracy internationally, to cooperation in such 
areas as environmental protection, health care, the exploration of 
outer space and the development of information technologies. Two areas 
in which our bilateral relationship has made particular progress are 
security cooperation and partnership in the international campaign 
against terrorism.
  One tangible example of this newfound cooperation is taking place 
right now in Alaska. The second Indo-U.S. Joint Military Exercise began 
September 19 and will continue until October 11. The aim of the joint 
exercise is to learn from each other's experience and procedures 
towards achieving interoperability. Troops from the two countries are 
carrying out para-drops, scouting/airborne assault missions and 
progressed with various levels of joint firing exercises. The first 
joint airborne military exercise between the two countries was held at 
Agra, India in May of this year. I'm pleased to report that the 
distinguished Indian Ambassador to the U.S., Mr. Lalit Mansingh, 
traveled to Alaska on October 7, to witness the exercises. The 
Ambassador met Brigadier General John M. Brown III, Commander of the 
U.S. Army Alaska at Fort Richardson, who expressed his appreciation of 
the professionalism, discipline and adaptability of the Indian armed 
forces.
  Defense cooperation between our two countries has emerged as one of 
the most important dimensions of the overall U.S.-Indian bilateral 
relations. A major joint naval exercise, named ``Malabar IV'' was 
successfully completed in the Indian Ocean last week. The Executive 
Steering Groups of all the three defense services are scheduled to meet 
again later this year to develop plans for additional joint exercises, 
training and other areas of cooperation.
  Another recent example of our joint commitment for a more stable and 
secure world was the U.S.-India Security and Non-Proliferation Dialogue 
held in New Delhi September 23-24. India continues to make substantial 
progress in meeting U.S. non-proliferation goals and is also committed 
to vigorously enforcing stringent export controls on dual-use 
technologies.
  Mr. Speaker, since last September 11, the struggle against the 
international terrorist threat has been an overriding priority in all 
of our international relations. As President Bush told the world with 
admirable clarity, ``Either you're with us or you're with the 
terrorists.'' India has clearly risen to the occasion and made it clear 
that it stands with us and against the terrorists--without any 
ambiguity.
  In the year since September 11, 2001, India and the U.S. have forged 
an ever-closer partnership in the struggle against international 
terrorism--a partnership that had actually began in January 2000 with 
the establishment of the U.S.-India Joint Working Group on 
Counterterrorism. The Commission has met five times since, and high-
level consultations between key officials are ongoing.
  Mr. Speaker, I am encouraged by the Bush Administration's recognition 
of the importance of India as a growing ally of the United States. The 
pace of bilateral engagement since President Bush took office has been 
unprecedented. The National Security Strategy of the United States, 
transmitted by President Bush to Congress in early September as a 
declaration of the Administration's policy, calls India ``a growing 
world power with which we have common strategic interests.'' The report 
further states: ``The Administration sees India's potential to become 
one of the great democratic powers of the twenty-first century and has 
worked hard to transform our relationship accordingly.''
  Our President and Prime Minister Vajpayee of India have established a 
strong working relationship, which symbolizes the friendship and 
partnership between our countries. We welcomed Prime Minister 
Vajpayee's visit to the United States last month for the U.N. General 
Assembly meeting. During his stay in New York, the Prime Minister met 
with President Bush, and also attended commemoration ceremonies for 9/
11--a further indication of the deep sympathy and strong sense of 
solidarity that the Indian government and people feel regarding the 
attacks on America.
  At their November 2001 meeting, President Bush and Prime Minister 
Vajpayee issued a joint statement outlining the broad scope of 
bilateral relations. The statement affirmed their commitment to 
complete the process of qualitatively transforming bilateral relations 
in pursuit of their many common goals in Asia and beyond. In addition 
to the increasing exchanges and technical cooperation in the defense 
and security areas, the President and Prime Minister also stressed the 
importance of policies to enhance the economic and commercial ties 
between our nations, and agreed to dialogue and cooperation in the 
areas of energy, the environment, health, space, export controls, 
science and technology, including biotechnology and information 
technology.
  A major part of the human dimension to our bilateral relationship is 
the Indian-American community. Numbering more than 1.7 million, the 
community has played a leading role in bringing together our two great 
democracies. The community has also worked to educate us, the elected 
Representatives of the United States, about the importance of U.S.-
India relations to build the security and prosperity that will benefit 
both of our peoples and create a more stable world.

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