印防长跟五角大楼签署重要后勤补给协议

The U.S. and India have signed a key logistics agreement that will enable U.S. and Indian forces to use each other\'s bases for repair and replenishment of supplies.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter told reporters Monday at the Pentagon that he and Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar formally signed the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) earlier in the day. The two defense leaders had agreed on the memorandum “in principle” when they last met in India in April.

Carter said the agreement is “fully mutual” and makes joint operations easier and more efficient. Both defense leaders stressed the agreement did not allow each nation to set up bases on the other, but to use bases and equipment only for “operating together when we choose to.”

“It doesn\'t have anything to do with the setting up of bases,” Parrikar added. “It\'s basically logistics support.”

During Parrikar\'s visit to the Pentagon, the two defense leaders discussed India\'s recent designation as a major U.S. defense partner. The designation recently was announced during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi\'s June visit to Washington, and Carter said it allows the United States military to cooperate with India\'s military “in a way that we do only with our closest and most long-standing allies.”

Monday\'s talks at the Pentagon, the sixth meeting between the two defense chiefs, comes ahead of key annual exercises in India between U.S. and Indian forces.

美国国防部长卡特星期一在五角大楼对记者说，他和印度国防部长马诺哈·帕里卡稍早正式签署了《后勤交换协议备忘录》。两位领导人4月份在印度会晤时就“原则上”同意签署这份备忘录。

卡特说，该协议“完全互惠”，使联合行动更方便更高效。两位国防部长强调，协议没有授权在彼此境内建立基地，而是仅在“我们选择一起行动时”使用对方的基地和设备。

帕里卡说：“这与建立基地没有任何关系。”“它就是后勤支援。”

帕里卡到访五角大楼期间，两位国防领导人还讨论了印度最近被确定为美国一个主要国防合作伙伴的问题。这个定位是在印度总理莫迪六月访问华盛顿时宣布的。卡特说，它使美国军方能够“以只有对待我们最亲密和最持久的盟友的方式”同印度军方进行合作。

周一在五角大楼的会谈是两位国防部领导人第六次会晤。美印两国不久将在印度举行重要的年度联合演习。