With the United States expected to authorise India’s purchase of naval drones, a senior White House official cautioned on Friday that any US military transfer to India would not represent a threat to its neighbour and rival Pakistan.
The official spoke to reporters in advance of US President Donald Trump's first meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, a White House visit that will include one-on-one talks and a working dinner.
Securing agreement on the purchase of 22 unarmed drones worth more than $2 billion is seen in New Delhi as a key test of defense ties that flourished under former President Barack Obama but have drifted under Trump, who has courted Asian rival China as he seeks Beijing's help to contain North Korea's nuclear program.
The US-based company that makes the drones, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc, said on Friday that the US government had approved the sale of a naval variant of the Predator drone to India.
The senior White House official said any arms tranfer would take into account the regional situation.
"We want to avoid a situation that escalates the tension" between India and Pakistan, the official said. India and Pakistan should engage in direct talks and seek a normalisation of ties, the official said.
Some of the defense systems we’re talking about we don’t believe impact Pakistan.
The Indian navy wants the surveillance drones, variants of the Predator drones, to keep watch over the Indian Ocean. The deal would be the first such purchase by a country that is not a member of North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
India, a big buyer of US arms that was recently named by Washington as a major defense ally, wants to protect its 7,500-km (4,700-mile) coastline as Beijing expands its maritime trade routes and Chinese submarines increasingly lurk in regional waters.
But sources tracking the discussions say the US State Department has been concerned about the potential destabilising impact of introducing high-tech drones into South Asia, where tensions are simmering between India and Pakistan, particularly over Kashmir, which is divided between them.
Such a sale of sensitive military hardware must be authorised by the State Department before being sent to Congress for review.
The drone deal would still require approval by Congress. The State Department declined comment ahead of any notification.
Defense cooperation, the US trade deficit with India, counter-terrorism efforts and regional tensions are expected to be discussed.
(The story has been edited for length)
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