The Indo-US ties, particularly in the defence sector, have strengthened in past few years and there is still room for growth in the relationship, a Senate committee was told in Washington.
"India has become a much more prominent partner of the United States and potential ally on military-to-military issues in the last several years. Last year, the US cleared the way for the resumption of high-technology defence and aerospace exports to India," Senator Jeanne Shaheen said at a hearing by the Senate Armed Services Committee.
"However, it does seem that there is still room for growth in our relationship," he said.
Admiral Robert Willard, Commander of the US Pacific Command, said India is a very important partner in the region and one that there remains room for growth and advancement in partnership.
"It has advanced in the past two-and-a-half years that I've been at Pacific Command. And in the previous two-and-a-half years as pacific fleet commander, we were very much engaged with India and attempting to advance the relationship then," he said.
"If you range back to our history with India, we are in a fairly nascent stage of engagement nation to nation, given that this is the largest democracy in the world, like-minded in many ways, and in a troubled region of the world in South Asia, but a very important partnership," Willard said.
The Pentagon commander said from the security standpoint, the US is engaged with India across all its services at an increasing rate every year.
"There are challenges in the relationship. We overcome still the trust deficit as it relates to having departed South Asia years ago and having terminated relationships with both India and Pakistan following nuclear tests in the late 1990s," he said.
"I think that the current dialogue that is from the president on down, and certainly at a military level very robust, is overcoming all of this. There is certainly a China factor in India. They have a long-term border dispute that continues to be a challenge for both countries, and they ought a war over it in 1962," Willard said.
Noting that China is a very strong partner of Pakistan and Pakistan and India have relationship that all is aware of, both nuclear-armed and a long-term history of animosity between the two of them.
"To India's credit, they're maintaining ministerial-level dialogue with Pakistan and have for the past nearly two years, even post-Mumbai and all of the tension that that created," Willard said.
Senator Carl Levin, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said US relationship with India is very important.
"Our relations with India, our security and military relations, it's a very significant partner in the region.
The growing and robust relationship, I believe is good news and the right way to go and your answer is very reassuring to me as it was to other members of the committee," Levin told Willard in response.
