New Delhi: The US government may announce a special military package for India to develop more strategic and diplomatic relations between the two countries and counter Russia. According to the sources, “The US is preparing a military aid package for India to deepen security ties and reduce the country’s dependence on Russian weapons,”
In the last few months, Maintaining the strategic, defense, and diplomatic relations with India turned very important for the US and many other countries as India keeps its stand neutral on many international issues.
The announcement of the deal and what weapons would be included? It is unclear, But the package under consideration would include foreign military financing of as much as $500 million, which would make India one of the largest recipients of such aid behind Israel and Egypt.
On a condition of anonymity, a senior US official said that “The effort is part of a much larger initiative by President Joe Biden’s administration to court India as a long-term security partner, despite its reluctance to criticize Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.”
India is the world’s largest buyer of Russian weapons, although it has scaled back that relationship of late. Over the past decade, India has bought more than $4 billion worth of military equipment from the US and more than $25 billion from Russia, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which collects data on arms transfers.
Washington wants to be seen as a reliable partner for India across the board, the official added, and the administration is working with other nations including France to make sure Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has the equipment it needs. While India is already diversifying its military platforms away from Russia, the US wants to help make that happen faster, the official said.
The major challenge remains how to provide India with major platforms like fighter jets, naval ships, and battle tanks, the official said, adding that the administration is looking for a breakthrough in one of these areas. The financing package being discussed would do little to make those types of systems – which can cost billions or tens of billions of dollars – more affordable, but it would be a significant symbolic sign of support.
(Vinayak Barot/Smit Soni)