Don't make India a US military ally: CPI-M

New Delhi, April 13: The CPI-M on Wednesday accused the government of taking a "dangerous step" by agreeing to let US armed forces use facilities in Indian naval and air force bases.

Along with other related developments, the Narendra Modi government has converted India "into a full-fledged military ally of the US", the Communist Party of India-Marxist said.

The US Defence Secretary and Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar announced on Tuesday an in principle agreement for a Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA).

"This is just another name for the Logistic Support Agreement (LSA) that the US enters into with military allies like the Philippines, South Korea and Japan," the Communist Party of India-Marxist said.

"Unlike what (Parrikar) says, refuelling, maintenance and repair facilities for American ships and airplanes will require the stationing of US armed forces personnel on Indian soil on a regular basis.

"Along with this agreement, the minister has indicated that two other agreements are on the anvil: Communication and Information Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA).

"These will make the Indian armed forces command and control structure integrated with the US armed forces.

"In doing so, the BJP government has crossed a line which no other government has done since independence: converting India into a full-fledged military ally of the US.

"By this, the Modi government has compromised national sovereignty and the strategic autonomy of the country... It should immediately retract from signing the Logistics Agreement."

IANS