Govt nears Russian missile defence deal
NEW DELHI: India’s defence minister is visiting Moscow this week to finalise the purchase of a Russian missile defence system, Indian officials say, in a weapons deal that would violate US sanctions against Russia.
The potential US$6-billion deal comes at a time when the Trump administration is both weighing more extensive sanctions against Russia and trying to forge a military alliance with India. Indian officials say the agreement could be finalised as soon as this week, with India purchasing five S-400 Triumf systems, an anti-aircraft missile array that can also intercept missiles.
If the purchase goes through, the Trump administration would have to choose between punishing India for violating the sanctions or granting an exemption to avoid souring the relationship.
The US has been trying to cultivate India as a strategic ally and a hedge against Chinese military expansion. Washington has typically dangled defence deals as a way to improve military ties with countries, and it has courted India aggressively. Lockheed Martin offered last summer to move the production of F-16 fighter jets from Texas to India if India agreed to buy the plane.
“In the past few years you’ve seen a massive transition where more equipment is being bought from the US. That’s because the US wants a closer relationship with India, and defence deals are essentially diplomatic deals,” said Shailesh Kumar, the Asia director of the Eurasia Group, a geopolitical risk consulting firm.
“My suspicion is that America will not deem the S-400 purchase as sanctions-worthy,” Mr Kumar said. “There’s too much at stake for bilateral relations. If the US goes for sanctions, it will undermine the goodwill the US has been trying to build up with India over the last two decades.”
Washington is increasing pressure on Moscow over its alleged meddling in US elections and over the suspected poisoning of a Russian spy in London last month.
“We are engaging with a range of countries to avert future defence acquisitions and the secretary of state will take appropriate action when and if we determine sanctionable activity has occurred,” a spokeswoman from the State Department said. The spokeswoman did not specify what action Washington would take if the deal went through.
US officials acknowledge that India’s large stock of Russian equipment is a fact of life. But the pending S-400 deal is alarming to the US because it is a relatively new and state-of-the-art weapons system, not just an agreement to service existing equipment.
“The Russians are angry at India for going to the Americans for a lot of equipment, because India was their backyard as far as military purchases went,” said Rahul Bedi of Jane’s Information Group, which tracks defence sales and is based in London.
“The Indians are scrambling to curry favour again with Russians and the S-400s are a way to do it.”
India will be hosting a defense exhibition next week, inviting global weapons manufacturers to showcase their hardware. The US and Russia are both sending official delegations.
India’s pending deal is also another potential setback to the US’ struggling Patriot missile defence system, produced by Raytheon.
Turkey, despite being a Nato ally, signed an agreement to buy the Russian S-400 system in December, ignoring US concerns.
US officials have also tried to sway India to purchase Patriot missile systems instead of the S-400. But the Patriot system has faced recent scrutiny after it failed to protect Saudi Arabia’s capital from missiles fired by Houthi militants in Yemen.