Wednesday, July 20 2005 21:49 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: India is expected to start purchasing $5 billion worth of conventional military equipment from the US if the civilian nuclear cooperation agreement between the two countries is approved by Congress, according to Pentagon officials.

The current US Non-proliferation Act prevents India and other countries that have not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty from acquiring a wide range of US military technology that included components that could be used for nuclear programmes.

While Bush Administration officials have sought to play down how the arrangement fits into a broad White House strategy to help position India as a regional counterweight to China, Pentagon officials told 'The Washington Post' that they expected India to start purchasing as much as $5 billion worth of conventional military equipment if the pact is approved by US Congress.

The Pentagon officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Post that they considered many of the potential sales, including anti-submarine patrol aircraft that could spot Chinese submarines in the Indian Ocean and Aegis radar for Indian destroyers operating in the strategic Straits of Malaka, as useful for monitoring the Chinese military.