Mullen says military relations with India vital

From Lalit K Jha
Washington, Jul 26 (PTI) Billing military ties with
India as very "vital" to Washington, top US military commander
Mike Mullen has said that forces to forces relationship
between the two countries are "in a very good shape".
On the verge of hanging his military boots, Mullen,
Chairman of US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a press briefing,
his last to foreign journalists before retirement, that there
was a need to take the Indo-US military relation from strength
to strength.
"The military-to-military relationship between India
and the United States has grown stronger and stronger and
actually is in very good shape. There's very active
interaction between each of the services," he said.
"Certainly, before several years ago, before I had
this job, I was the head of our Navy, and the interaction, for
instance, at that time between our two navies was significant.
It continues to be. We continue to grow each year," Mullen
said.
Responding to questions, Mullen said America's
relationship with India is vital.
"It's a vital region. It's a vital relationship. It's
a relationship that I think we need to make stronger and
stronger. So I've been very pleased with how it has grown and
look forward to that continuing to be the case," Mullen said.