Nirmala Sitharaman headed for US to reaffirm strategic ties amid the shadow of CAATSA

[HalfMoon]

Nirmala Sitharaman headed for US to reaffirm strategic ties amid the shadow of CAATSA

Rajat Pandit| TNN | Dec 1, 2018, 19:57 IST

Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman (TOI file photo)
NEW DELHI: Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman is headed for the US to reaffirm the bilateral strategic partnership in the Indo-Pacific region as well as discuss new defence deals and projects, even though the threat of the Trump administration imposing financial sanctions on India's $5.43 billion deal for Russian S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems is yet to abate.

Sitharaman, who leaves for the US on Saturday night, is slated to hold extensive talks with her American counterpart Jim Mattis on December 3 and later visit the Indo-Pacific Command headquarters at Honolulu in Hawaii during her official trip till December 7, said officials.

Though both Mattis and secretary of state Mike Pompeo have strongly argued India's case for a "national security waiver" under CAATSA (Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions Act), which seeks to prevent countries from buying Russian weapons or Iranian oil, the final call is yet to be taken by President Donald Trump.

Sitharaman is expected to pitch for a presidential waiver for the S-400 contract on the ground that the deal had been in the works since much before CAATSA came into force in August 2017, while also pointing to India's impeccable record in "never compromising the operational secrecy" of weapon systems it has bought from the US.




There is disquiet in the Indian government over CAATSA, which earlier got reflected in Sitharaman's dismissal of it as a "a US law and not a UN law", in the backdrop of the US having bagged lucrative Indian defence deals worth $17 billion just since 2007.




India on November 15 had also kicked off the formal process for another mega deal with the US government, the acquisition of 24 naval multi-role MH-60 'Romeo' helicopters for around Rs 13,500 crore, as was first reported by TOI.




India and the US are also in talks for 22 armed Predator-B or weaponized Sea Guardian drones, as also the $1 billion deal for the American National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System-II (NASAMS-II) for deployment as a missile shield to protect New Delhi.




The US, of course, is also aggressively hawking its F/A-18 or F-16 fighter production line for the IAF's over $20 billion "Make in India" competition for 114 jets as well as the Navy's quest for 57 carrier-capable fighters.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...the-shadow-of-caatsa/articleshow/66897604.cms

 

[SuvarnaTeja]

BJP government is fully bending backwards.


Boeing given time till 2020 to show offsets work on naval jet
By
Manu Pubby
, ET Bureau|
Updated: Nov 30, 2018, 10.11 AM IST
global aviation giant Boeing to prove that it carried out offsets work worth $641 million for a naval jet deal that came under heavy fire from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India earlier this year.

The $2.1billion deal to procure P8 I maritime reconnaissance aircraft that was inked in 2009 took political colour after a CAG audit, with senior government ministers including Piyush Goyal and Rajyavardhan Rathore charging that it put the national security at risk and that the previous UPA government had bought “defective spy planes”.

ET has learnt that in a decision taken in late October by the Nirmala Sitharaman-led Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the US company has been given an extension of the ‘period of performance’ till December 2020 to provide all necessary documents to prove it carried out the offsets.

The ministry has kept a legal measure at hand to recover ‘full penalty payable’ in case of non-compliance in the form of a $106 million bank guarantee. The dispute over the offsets arises from 2016, when Boeing claimed to have not just met but exceeded its offset obligations for the deal. The company had claimed it undertook $845 million worth of offset work in place of its obligation of $641 million.

However, the ministry’s legal department raised concerns on the claims, asking for a list of supporting documents to prove the claim. Now, after the US company pleaded that asking for this list is an afterthought and that it would need to go back to all its partners to collect the documents, the ministry has agreed to give it till 2020 to complete the process.

While an audit of the company’s claim is being carried out, the assurance received before taking the decision was that the bank guarantee is sufficient to “cover the likely penalty which was concurred by MoD (finance) and approved by the acquisition wing”. In addition, the company is likely to discharge $40 million additional offsets till 2020 for the deal to cater for shortfalls that have been pointed out by a government survey. Sources said that the US company put its performance bond at risk and is confident that the paperwork would be put in place.

Boeing has also contended that the requirement of additional paperwork was a requirement that the ministry insisted on despite there being no rule book or policy mandating it. In August, the CAG had torn apart the P8 I deal, hinting in a report that a deliberate attempt was made to favour Boeing over its Spanish competitor by masking the offer price. Coming down heavily on how the deal, which was inked to meet urgent requirements of the Navy for a long range reconnaissance platform, was finalised, CAG had also alleged that Boeing had not met its offset obligations of $641 million till date, despite the contract specifying that all obligations had to be fulfilled by August 2016. The CAG had also alleged that the American platform did not fully meet the requirements of the Indian Navy.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.co...ts-work-on-naval-jet/articleshow/66874523.cms

 

[Shankranthi]

BJP government is fully bending backwards.

How is the BJP govt. at fault here ?

Its the Congress who failed to implement the offset from Boeing.

If BJP was to penalize Boeing for not fulfilling the obligation, what do you think will happen to the Maintenance contract of those aircraft's ?

 

[SuvarnaTeja]

How is the BJP govt. at fault here ?

Its the Congress who failed to implement the offset from Boeing.

If BJP was to penalize Boeing for not fulfilling the obligation, what do you think will happen to the Maintenance contract of those aircraft's ?

Huh!

And NS goes to US to buy more? Seems like a great plan. Isn't it?

 

[Shankranthi]

Huh!

And NS goes to US to buy more? Seems like a great plan. Isn't it?

Its depends on the CONTRACT genius. Not on the US govt.

CONgress deliberately left loop holes in the contract in exchange for kick backs so that boeing can have wriggle room.

BJP OTOH refused to dance and canceled the contract with Rafale and came up with a new RFP.

THAT is the difference between a corrupt party and a NON Corrupt party.

 

[SuvarnaTeja]

Its depends on the CONTRACT genius. Not on the US govt.

CONgress deliberately left loop holes in the contract in exchange for kick backs so that boeing can have wriggle room.

BJP OTOH refused to dance and canceled the contract with Rafale and came up with a new RFP.

THAT is the difference between a corrupt party and a NON Corrupt party.

Nonsense. Most deals with the US are through FMS route.

The less we talk about Rafales the better. BJP totally messed up the Rafale deal.

 

[Shankranthi]

Nonsense. Most deals with the US are through FMS route.

The less we talk about Rafales the better. BJP totally messed up the Rafale deal.

FMS only fixes the price, it does not freeze the CONTRACT.

Those have to be negotiated separately.

I don't care if you talk or don't talk about the Rafale. You clearly don't know jack $hit to talk about anything.

 

[SuvarnaTeja]

FMS only fixes the price, it does not freeze the CONTRACT.

Those have to be negotiated separately.

I don't care if you talk or don't talk about the Rafale. You clearly don't know jack $hit to talk about anything.

The credit goes to CAG not BJP. BJP in fact is giving more time.This is a total joke.

If I start talking about Rafale you would run away. As such your life on this forum is short between the bans.

 

[Shankranthi]

The credit goes to CAG not BJP. BJP in fact is giving more time.This is a total joke.

If I start talking about Rafale you would run away. As such your life on this forum is short between the bans.

lol. BJP HAD to give more time thanks to CONgress negotiated contracts that did not have maintenance contract as part of the deal.

So far its you who is running away from talking about Rafale. lol at your empty threats pappu.

 

[Joe Shearer]

FMS only fixes the price, it does not freeze the CONTRACT.

Those have to be negotiated separately.

I don't care if you talk or don't talk about the Rafale. You clearly don't know jack $hit to talk about anything.

I have to agree with you. This is an amateur representing himself as a well-informed person in the field (somewhere he talks about 50 years experience!!), and making a total hash of collated newspaper reports to substitute for knowing what had happened and is happening.