India, US to sign 10-year defence framework pact today

US secretary of defense Ashton Carter arrived in India on Tuesday for a three- day visit.

India and the US will sign the 2015 US-India Defense Framework Agreement on Wednesday. The 10-year agreement will include maritime security cooperation, joint military exercises and defence technology development.

Carter will call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday morning, before meeting the national security advisor Ajit Doval and India's defence minister Manohar Parrikar in the evening, defence ministry officials said.

Carter accompanied by a 13-member high-level delegation began the India trip to from Eastern Naval Command in Vishakapatnam on Tuesday afternoon. Navy officials said that he had a meeting with chief of staff the Indian Navy's Eastern Command vice admiral BK Verma. Carter also toured INS Sahyadri, India's indigenous stealth frigate before leaving for Delhi.

The US embassy in New Delhi said that "Carter's trip to India is part of his focus on the US rebalance to Asia. Specifically, his trip to Vishakapatnam showcased his commitment to maritime security and the need for a regional security architecture that creates transparency and trust among regional partners," the embassy said in a statement.

Though the defence ministry officials remained tight- lipped, experts said during Carter's talks, the US may try and hard sell the American F-16 and F/A-18 aircraft to the Indian Air Force even as India has recently ordered 36 Rafale jets from France to cater to a part of its requirement under the medium multi-role combat aircraft category.