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Panetta to meet Antony, focus likely on China
New Delhi -- Visiting US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta will on Wednesday hold a meeting with Defence Minister A K Antony where the two sides are expected to discuss the entire gamut of their strategic and military relationship and the situation in the Af-Pak region.

"During the meeting, the ongoing defence cooperation and regional security situation will figure prominently," the Defence Ministry said in a release.

China is also expected to figure in the discussions between the two countries, which have been increasing their military cooperation in the recent past. The Indian side is also expected to take up the issue of denial of dual-use items by the US to the laboratories under the DRDO. The issue has been discussed earlier at the meetings of the Defence Policy Group also where India has demanded that the definition of dual-use items should be reviewed by the US authorities.

To bolster bilateral defence ties and step up cooperation on Afghanistan, US defence secretary Leon Panetta arrived in India Tuesday on a two-day visit. What adds significance to Panetta visit is the United States’ eagerness to conclude two major military deals, and his own recent overtures about China’s growing military assertiveness.
Posted by: Steve White 2012-06-06
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=346102