The Vajpayee government appears to be caught in a bind over the episode in which a helicopter from an US Navy ship docked at Chennai hovered over Chennai's airspace for more than three hours. The Opposition sees in Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's hurried explanation that the airspace intrusion was essentially harmless something more than a mere diplomatic extending of facilities.

There has been talk for some time of an India-US military alliance - and, now, the Opposition sees it taking shape. Despite the government's protestations to the contrary, the Opposition feels that the Vajpayee government did more than extend facilities to the United States on the sly. On Wednesday, November 28, the government was directed by Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker P M Sayeed to make a statement on the issue in Parliament the next day.

The entire Opposition staged a walkout in the Lok Sabha over the issue. It demanded the "revocation of all facilities" granted by New Delhi to US warships, on the ground that India's sovereignty and dignity were "compromised" during the helicopter episode in Chennai.

The Opposition is feeling "cheated" by the prime minister, who had declared at an all-party meeting on September 27 that the US had made no request and that India had extended no facilities. If either were to happen, he added, the government would revert to the Opposition.

"It cannot be passed off as an inevitable part of the Vajpayee government's association with American war effort and the fight against terrorism," the Communist Party of India (CPI) Central Secretariat said in a statement. It demanded an explanation from the Vajpayee government as to why it had allowed US warships facilities for refuelling, and rest and recreation for their hands.

Significantly, US Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Command, Admiral Dennis Blair, commenced a three-day visit to India. In a damage-limitation exercise, he held wideranging talks with Indian leaders and officials, including Union Defence Minister George Fernandes. Later, Blair had a 30-minute meeting with Union Home Minister L K Advani in his North Block office. He also met External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh. Blair refused to reply to questions by reporters after the meeting.

He will meet with top industrialists at the headquarters of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Thursday, November 29. He will visit Jodhpur later at the invitation of the General Officer Commanding of the Desert Corps.

On the opening day of his three-day tour, the second in the past two months, Blair held extensive discussions with the army chief, Gen S Padmanabhan, the naval chief, Admiral Sushil Kumar, Union Defence Secretary Yogendera Narain and Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal S Krishnaswamy. His visit is considered significant in the wake of recent pronouncements by US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Washington's desire to resume defence supplies to India and recommence interaction with the Indian armed forces.

The highlight of the Blair talks, according to sources within the ministry of defence (MoD), was on the reactivation of the Indo-US joint defence policy group. Blair had a detailed presentation given to him in the War Room on the wide experience of the Indian Armed forces in battling terrorism. The 50-minute-long presentation included first-hand accounts of battle strategy and tactics employed against Pakistan mercenary forces, particularly those trained in the al Qaida camps in Afghanistan.