'US-India military ties closest ever'

India-US military relationship is the "closest it has been ever" and the two countries are exercising together by air, land and sea for the first time, America's defence secretary Ashton Carter has said.

"America's regional partnerships are growing in number and strength. The US-India military relationship is the closest it's ever been. Great nation, large democracy," Carter remarked on Thursday in San Diego.

"Through our strategic handshake with America's reaching west in our re-balance and India reaching east in what Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi calls his Act East Policy, our two nations are exercising together by air, land, and sea."

Noting that Asia-Pacific is the most consequential region for America's future, he said the US is managing "historic change" in the area.

Meanwhile, US on Thursday blamed Pakistan for the escalation of tensions in the Indian subcontinent.

According to Indian media, Pakistan's coddling of UN-designated terror groups and its launching cross-border terrorism into India is being seen by the Obama administration as the provocation - if not justification -- for New Delhi's decision to conduct the surgical strikes at terrorist launch pads across the border.

"We've repeatedly expressed our concerns regarding the danger that terrorism poses to the region. We continue to urge actions to combat and delegitimize terrorist groups like LeT and the Haqqani Network, Jaish-e-Mohammad," State Department spokesman John Kirby said when asked about India's actions.

Kirby confirmed that US secretary of state John Kery had one conversation with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj in which "he condemned terrorism in all its forms and he cautioned against any escalation in tensions," while reiterating his "strong condemnation of the September 18th Uri attack."