美、印簽署協議，擴大軍事關係

The United States and India took a major step to expand defense ties Thursday, signing a deal that allows India to acquire high-end U.S. weaponry, including armed Guardian drones.

The agreement was signed during a meeting in New Delhi among U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and their Indian counterparts.

“The landmark agreement deepens our military to military cooperation and our ability to share the most advanced defense technology, making us both stronger,” Mattis said.

If the Guardian sale goes through, India would become the first non-NATO country to buy armed U.S. drones.

The deal reflects growing ties between the U.S. and India – the world’s two largest democracies – both of whom are concerned about China’s rising power.

Most of India’s weapons are Russian-made, a legacy of India’s Cold War relationship with the Soviet Union. But U.S. military sales to India have expanded rapidly – going from zero in 2008 to $15 billion this year. That figure now stands to increase, with the new agreement in place.

The U.S. is currently India’s second-largest weapons supplier.

The U.S. and India also agreed to hold a new military exercise. The exercise will involve sea, land, and air forces. It will occur of the eastern coast of India in 2019.美國和印度星期四簽署一項協議，允許印度獲得包括武裝無人機“衛士”在內的高端美國武器，爲雙方擴大軍事關係邁出重大一步。

協議是在美國國防部長馬蒂斯、國務卿蓬佩奧與印度防長及外長在新德里會晤時簽署的。

馬蒂斯說， “這份具有里程碑意義的協議加深了我們軍方之間的合作，以及我們分享最先進國防技術的能力，讓我們兩國都更強大。”

如果“衛士”無人機的銷售成交，印度將成爲第一個購買美國武裝無人機的非北約國家。

這一協議反映出美印關係日益增長。這兩國全球最大的民主國家都在關注中國力量的崛起。

印度的大多數武器都是俄羅斯製造的，這是印度與前蘇聯在冷戰時期的關係遺留下來的。不過美國對印度的軍火銷售迅速增加 ，從2008年的零增加到今年的150億美元。美國目前是印度第二大武器供應國。

美國和印度也同意舉行一次新的軍事演習。演習將包括海、陸、空軍，將於2019年在印度東海岸舉行。