India may close a major defense deal with Russia as early as next week, when Indian Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will make her first trip to Moscow. The deal covers two S-400 air defense systems, which include radar, missile launchers and command center technology.
Why it matters: In August 2017, President Trump signed into law the Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) against Russia. Because the sanctions target any country trading with Russia's defense and intelligence sectors, India's pending deal may put it on a collision course with the U.S.
The background: Approximately 60% of India’s defense inventory is Russian-made, a legacy of India’s Cold War–era relationship with the Soviet Union. While the U.S. has become its second largest defense supplier — mainly of aircraft and artillery — India still relies heavily on Russian equipment, such as submarines and missiles, that the U.S. has been unwilling to provide.
India has good reason to want high-end weapons systems: It is the only country in the world that has contested borders with two nuclear neighbors — Pakistan and China — and has fought wars with both. Forcing India to abruptly cut off Russian supplies would create unacceptable risk to India's self-defense. If forced to choose between a robust, well-equipped military and U.S. goodwill, India would likely choose the former.
What's next: These sanctions, like penalties the U.S. imposed after India's nuclear tests in the 1990s, would sour relations. At worst, they could stoke domestic backlash and close off U.S. defense sales to India for the foreseeable future. Given bipartisan support for the U.S.–India defense relationship, Congress should grant India waiver authority under CAATSA. Without waivers, other important regional partners, like Vietnam and Indonesia, are also likely to trigger sanctions.
The bottom line: India warrants an exemption from these secondary sanctions, as does any country with which the U.S. is forging new and strategically important defense relations.
Comments(5)
The Indian position is "India’s relations with third countries (such as Russia) were not a part of discussions with the US and our defense requirements were determined by us only, independent of pressures and outside influence.” As simple as that. If the American interests are paramount to the Americans, so are India's. And India will not dump a third country, just because the British or the Americans do not like them. Neo-colonialism will be resisted with full might, word wide.
for coming 10 years india US relations will b eswinging betwwen extremely low and optimistic kind of level because of the utter contempt with which it trats India. It is only that india comes to around 10 trillion $ GDP(2930) that will have enough heft to reciprocate the US contempt, For the time being India should not give any defence deals(out of an estimated cost -259 billion$ in coming 10 years) to US Cos because we really do not need the US hardware
Good on India! Trump is a bully and a fool for all his intellect. No amount of reason can sway him. Ideas he seems to go with are his and pre-conceived. Closing borders to overcome an internal recession is mind-boggling. To threaten the world en masse is something unseen before.
The reality may be entirely different from the general perception about President Trump. The truth is somewhere in between. And in this case, the President may just be toeing the long hardened aggressive position of the US State Dept. and Pentagon against Russia. India can always be sacrificed for American national interests.
indo us relations will never improve because of the conteptuous US attiyude
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