tushar
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Global Public Square reader Rahul lays out five thoughtful counterarguments to Fareed's latest post, India's strategic planners aren't thinking. Fareed argued that India made a mistake in deciding to buy European warplanes instead of American ones. Rahul argues that it was a wise move:
There are several reasons why I feel that India's decision for not going with the American deal make perfect sense. Let me list these for you:
1) We (India) made a major mistake by aligning with and using USSR and then Russia as the sole supplier of arms. In the recent years we have had issues sourcing parts from Russia and the CSR for the equipment we already have.
We have already signed defense deals of more that $10bn with USA to buy different kinds of aircraft and other materials. We cannot afford to have another round of sanctions slapped on us (surely you remember what happened in late 1990's) a few years from now, and have all the deals frozen again.
Therefore its best for India to sign defense deals with nations other than USA. More than likely India will go with the Eurofighter - a deal that involves pacts with several nations that are outside the realm of American influence.
2) You say that the Americans bent over backwards for the Indian deal. That is not really true. The American deal did not include technology transfer, which was one of the more important considerations. The European deals include technology transfer.
3) The offer for the F/A 18 and F16 fighters was good but not the best, since these planes are being phased out of the American airforce and navy, and these aircrafts weren't the best out of the six being considered.
4) I agree that India needs USA. Well, USA needs India too - that is a stable India in a very geopolitically unstable region in the word. We, as Indians, understand that too.
5) Lastly, by buying American arms, we are in a sense financing the Pakistani Defence forces. If we were to buy all our aircrafts from the U.S., then over the next decade we would have paid more that 30-35Bn dollars to the American companies (including the past deals, and the future possibility of buying another 100-125 fighter aircrafts from the winner of the current defence deal).
Part of the tax revenue would be paid back to the U.S. government. I don't think I would want my government to indirectly finance the Pakistani armed forces.
There are several reasons why I feel that India's decision for not going with the American deal make perfect sense. Let me list these for you:
1) We (India) made a major mistake by aligning with and using USSR and then Russia as the sole supplier of arms. In the recent years we have had issues sourcing parts from Russia and the CSR for the equipment we already have.
We have already signed defense deals of more that $10bn with USA to buy different kinds of aircraft and other materials. We cannot afford to have another round of sanctions slapped on us (surely you remember what happened in late 1990's) a few years from now, and have all the deals frozen again.
Therefore its best for India to sign defense deals with nations other than USA. More than likely India will go with the Eurofighter - a deal that involves pacts with several nations that are outside the realm of American influence.
2) You say that the Americans bent over backwards for the Indian deal. That is not really true. The American deal did not include technology transfer, which was one of the more important considerations. The European deals include technology transfer.
3) The offer for the F/A 18 and F16 fighters was good but not the best, since these planes are being phased out of the American airforce and navy, and these aircrafts weren't the best out of the six being considered.
4) I agree that India needs USA. Well, USA needs India too - that is a stable India in a very geopolitically unstable region in the word. We, as Indians, understand that too.
5) Lastly, by buying American arms, we are in a sense financing the Pakistani Defence forces. If we were to buy all our aircrafts from the U.S., then over the next decade we would have paid more that 30-35Bn dollars to the American companies (including the past deals, and the future possibility of buying another 100-125 fighter aircrafts from the winner of the current defence deal).
Part of the tax revenue would be paid back to the U.S. government. I don't think I would want my government to indirectly finance the Pakistani armed forces.
