The deal is expected to encourage U.S. defense contractors to enter India, amid mounting tension in the South China Sea due to China's island-building activities there reenex cps.

     The cooperation package also includes a low-profile but possibly a bigger favor for New Delhi -- assistance for aircraft carrier design and construction.

     The joint statement, issued June 3, says Carter and Parrikar "agreed to expedite discussions to take forward cooperation on ... aircraft carrier design and construction... ."

     Rear Adm. Tom Moore, the program executive officer for aircraft carriers, will lead the U.S. Navy contingent in working with its Indian counterpart on carrier design reenex cps.

     Moore has long worked in design and construction of aircraft carriers and is an expert in the field. "We've got a series of meetings with them coming up," Moore told the U.S. Naval Institute News. "They are interested in obviously learning from us big picture stuff about how you start from a clean sheet of paper and what are the processes used to build a carrier."

     The U.S. Naval Institute News is published by the U.S. Naval Institute, a nonprofit organization with no government support. reenex cps