China figures in Rajnath’s call with Israel

nNEWDELHI: Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Friday spoke with his Israeli counterpart Lt Gen Benjamin Gantz over the telephone, with the strengthening of bilateral defence ties being the focus of the conversation. The conversation comes as India is making emergency purchases from several countries including Israel to bolster the military’s capabilities amid border tensions with China in eastern Ladakh. The border row was also discussed, officials said.

“Both ministers expressed satisfaction at the progress of strategic cooperation between the two countries and discussed possibilities of further strengthening defence engagements,” the defence ministry said in a statement.

Singh updated Gantz on the situation along the contested Line of Actual Control in Ladakh.

India and China have lately failed to make a breakthrough in reducing border tensions despite intense negotiations at the military and diplomatic levels. The disengagement process at some friction points has virtually stopped, people familiar with the developments said.

The border conflict has forced India to speed up the purchase of military hardware, including fighter jets, smart air-to-ground weapons, missiles, rockets, multi-mission drones, air defence systems, Gps-guided artillery ammunition, tank ammunition and even assault rifles.

The US, Russia, France and Israel are among the countries that India plans to import the weaponry from.

India is looking at sourcing from Israel the Firefly loitering ammunition, Spike anti-tank guided missiles, Spice guidance kits that can be mounted on standard bombs to convert them into smart weapons and an operational surface-to-air missile system. A 2017 order worth $2 billion for such advanced systems to take down hostile aircraft and missiles has not translated into deliveries yet, the officials said.

Israel has been a reliable military partner and has stood by India, said Air Marshal KK Nohwar (retd), director-general, Centre for Air Power Studies. “Israel has always given us niche technologies in areas of electronic warfare systems and weapons systems that were not readily forthcoming from other countries,” Nohwar said.