The scizophrenia is certain bureaucratic echelons of the Government of India and its associated academia must be palpable. The entire line of the Himalayan frontier has been ultra-sensitive terrain ever since the 1962 debacle, whence meddlesome foreigners – even scholarly innocents – were thrown out for daring just even to be there.
And yet February saw Indian Air Force Mirage and Mig fighters happily escorting US Air Force F-15 Eagles over the Western Himalaya. No worries about what the Yank pilots might see over the side, even though airline passengers at Cochin and Varanasi airports are routinely asked desist from photography at the pain of being dumped on the tarmac.
How the world hath changed. The regional superpower decides, better late than never, to cosy up to the global superpower. And there is no better way to show appreciation than take the Yanks up for a spin over terrain that for decades you claimed was your most vulnerable and closely-guarded frontier region. So Bharat-rakshak IAF engages in "fighter ops" with USAF, titled Cope India '04. The last time the two superpowers engaged in joint exercises was Exercise Shiksha in 1963, right after the Chinese adventure.
"The purpose of Cope India '04 is to conduct a bilateral training ground with the Indian Air Force in order to enhance U.S. and India relationships and promote regional security and stability in the Asian Pacific area," said Col. Greg Neubeck, 3rd Operations Group deputy commander and U.S. Forces deployed commander for the exercise. "The most immediate result will be the increased understanding of each other's capabilities and how the two Air Forces may work together as a combined and integrated Air Force team."
Ummm. So the idea is to promote regional security not only over the subcontinent but farther afield. And what might the F-16s and Migs do together once they get to understand each other's capabilities?