Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'India needs US to win the arms race with China and Pakistan' that was published in Newsband

India needs US to win the arms race with China and Pakistan

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has cleared a set of much-delayed defence deals, worth Rs.78,000 crore. The focus was on indigenisation in addressing critical equipment shortages. Six new conventional stealth submarines under Project 75I, all to be built in a single shipyard in India, are sanctioned. At Rs. 50,000 crore, this will be the largest-ever domestic ship-building contract.

The government has also decided to go ahead with acquiring Israeli-built Spike Anti-Tank Guided Missiles, a third-generation fire-and-forget system, to equip the infantry with 300-plus launchers and 8,000-plus missiles, along with transfer of technology worth Rs 3,200 crore. This effectively nixes the U.S. offer of producing the Javelin in India and further co-development of fourth-generation Javelin for use by the armies of both countries.

A strong nation necessarily requires a modernized and self reliant defense system to protect its people and borders. A strong India only will be respected and trusted by its friends and feared by its enemies. In near future the world powers are going to fight for the Naval supremacy which can ensure them a good access to the seas which are in their radar for self preservation as well as for their own prosperity. US is way ahead on this score and China is showing its teeth in Indian and Pacific ocean. Their claims in case of South China Seas are clearly to close it for Navigation of other countries. Under such a scenario our spending a chunk of the funds towards upgradation in naval defence is sensible and laudable.

Considering our arms race with China and Pakistan and while welcoming the steps towards defence preparedness, our Government should make the entire purchase process transparent so as to avoid such deals getting mired into scandals and political mud-throwing. It’s ironical to see India has reached Mars but has to depend on others for its defensive needs. Until full and indigenous projects accomplishments are met, we are always susceptible and vulnerable to external threats.

As long as we depend on technology transfer and dependency on other nations, including joint projects (excluding Brahmos, which actually gives an edge over others), we are still vulnerable. "Make in India" campaign should emphasize not only to be built in India, it should be developed from scratch in India. And these developments not only should restrict to arms and ammunition, but there are other areas as well to think upon.

The speed with which the Modi government cleared defence deals has been rightly been commended. The NDA government has sent right signals not only to our defence establishments but also to our neighbours about India's on going defence preparedness.

The loss of Javelin to Spike is sure to cause heartburn in Washington. Maybe, the better product has won the day. The US has also won in many cases such as C-17, C-130J, P-8I simply because of the superiority of their products. But Submarines are very complex naval systems. The Indian Navy need to know what is really out there so they can define the specifics. It is not just the sub structure but also sensor systems. A simple question that the navy asks itself is if I see the foe can he see me. If they can answer that question and address all the issues that arise, then at least they are thinking in the right direction. Don't waste billions of dollars to build something that is useless by the time they induct them. The 'make in India' is nice but the ground reality is that we need to team up with advanced nations, especially the United States.