"There has been a clear shift in the general US orientation towards South Asia," Ajai Sahni, executive director of the Institute of Conflict Management, a New Delhi-based independent think tank, told AFP.

"It is very clear that a partnership with India has become integral to the US vision of Asia's future and a more detailed, coherent defence agreement is a natural content of this."

The United States, which had snapped all military ties and imposed sanctions on India after it conducted nuclear tests in 1998, signed a 10-year military pact with New Delhi on Tuesday.

The agreement, signed by the defence ministers of the two countries, paves the way for joint weapons production, cooperation on missile defence and possible lifting of US export controls for sensitive military technologies.

The ministers termed the agreement as a "new era" in India-US ties.

The deal comes three months after the United States unveiled plans to help India become a "major world power in the 21st century" and ahead of a visit by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Washington at the invitation of President George W. Bush from July 18 to 20.

Bush, meanwhile, is expected to visit India later this year.

India, which is expected to record an economic growth rate of seven percent in the current fiscal year, is seen as a major emerging Asian power after China.

Together with Japan, the three countries are seen as the driving forces of a "new Asian era" -- a phrase recently coined by Prime Minster Singh.

Washington's move to boost relations between the world's oldest and largest democracies which were on the opposite sides in the Cold War is seen by some analysts as part of a strategy to counter the growing influence of China, India's immediate neighbour.

Analysts say the United States may back India's bid to become a permanent member in the UN Security Council, aside from its already pledged support for Japan.

C. Raja Mohan, who teaches South Asian relations at New Delhi's prestigious Jawahar Lal Nehru University, said the defence accord is more a logical outcome of ongoing talks between India and the US to take forward what they term their "strategic partnership".

"The pact is definitely significant. Finally, some substance is being added to India-US relations -- a credible framework is being established," he said.

"People may say this is an anti-China move aimed at countering China's growing might in the region but what the United States is trying to do is to ensure a better balance of power in Asia. They've had a much a longer relationship with China. They had nothing with India," Mohan said.

Former Indian foreign secretary M.K. Rasgotra agreed.

"The cooperation in transfer of technology and co-production is a positive and welcome step. I look at it as a bilateral development and not targeted against any third country," he said.

Mohan added that with increased globalisation of military ties, "India cannot take a position that it will deal with only one country".

More than seventy percent of India's defence supplies and technical know-how comes from Cold War ally Russia. But more recently New Delhi has cultivated France, Britain and Israel as its new defence partners.

The United States, which has had traditionally warm ties with India's arch rival Pakistan, had long denied access to key military technology and hardware to India.

But earlier this year Washington gave the green light to Lockheed Martin and Boeing to offer F-16 and F-18 warplanes as candidates for the Indian Air Force's multi-role fighter program, while also pledging support for Indian requests for other transformative systems in areas such as command and control, early warning, and missile defence.

India has relied so far on French and Russian frontline fighters.

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