NEW DELHI: The US government has decided to stop transit and refueling of its military transport aircraft in India from Wednesday an Indian foreign office spokesman announced here Tuesday PTI reports.
He said Washington has decided to make alternative arrangements for transit halts and refueling of the aircraft bound to and from the Persian Gulf.
US transport aircraft had been allowed to avail of transit and refueling facilities in India from January 9 “in keeping with our friendly bilateral relations with the US” a foreign office spokesman told newsmen on January 28 after a newspaper reported refueling of US military aircraft in Bombay.
The spokesman then said “these facilities were granted after the government was satisfied that these transport aircraft would not be used for carrying lethal supplies but for evacuation of personnel on medical humanitarian and emergency grounds.”
Later on January 30 the spokesman confirmed that a new flights of US transport aircraft had also transited through Agra and Madras.
The refueling issue had created uproar in the country with most political parties including the Congress (I) the Bharatiya Janata Party the Janata Dal and the Left parties criticizing the decision.
Iraq also protested at the Indian decision and said it did not expect New Delhi with which it has friendly ties to provide refueling facility to the U.S planes.
Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar was warned by the Congress (I) to stop refueling or face withdrawal of its support to his govt.
Reports from Bombay however spoke of refueling continuing despite the prime minister’s announcement.
There was confusion in the public sector oil industry over the refueling. Petroleum ministry sources said the orders for discontinuing refueling had to come from the Prime Minister’s office.
The spokesman declined to say if the USA had replaced the fuel supplied to its giant transport aircraft. The original statement had spoken of the US agreeing to find “replacement” fuel.
A US naval ship “Ford” had also come to Bombay last month but according to the official statement it was on an invitation by the government of India to demonstrate use of a certain turbine.
According to him “as rule foreign naval ships in this area are neither permitted to call nor avail of our facilities.”
The spokesman also said in response to queries that it was likely that Washington would be issuing a similar statement like he had done on ending the refueling.
According to media reports Colombo has agreed to permit American aircraft to refuel.
Later US ambassador to India William Clark said his country has no desire to cause any “domestic friction in India over the issue of refueling facilities.
Clark told newsmen that Washington appreciated the position taken by New Delhi on the situation.
There was understanding in the US. of “political dynamism” in India he said.
Clark just back from Washington declined to be drawn into details of the refueling controversy except to say there was no desire on the part of U.S. to cause “undue domestic friction between political parties and people within India”
The envoy described the Indo-US relations as “good in real terms”. He foresaw an important role for India in the gulf when the war ended.
The American ambassador described as “overstatement” the suggestions that the US had wanted its aircraft to be refueled in India in a strategic move to show the world New Delhi’s support to the action against Iraq.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 1, 1991
