Saleem Samad :
Relations between the United States and India are entering from turbulent phase to cold phase after the later plans to procure missile system from Russia. The relationship between two countries in two separate continents slumped when India plans to procure the S-400 missile system and the US stance on Kashmir are among the main reasons for this situation.
In the cat and mouse chase, the US pushed India into a corner seems to be causing more problems as India seeks alternative ways to increase its arsenal amidst a regional crisis. Despite the warning several times by the US, India is determined to purchase S-400 missile system from Russia.
Last year, the US Treasury Department finally declared that India could be removed from the US currency monitoring list of major trading partners because Washington has concern over the issue. Notwithstanding the pressure, India went ahead to establish close ties with Iran and attempted to find a way to overcome the embargo and sanctions imposed by the US.
On the one hand, the US would like India not to turn the rapprochement with Russia into an alliance and the threat posed by China has brought India and the US closer. The love and hate relations between India and the US are directly related to the arms issue. In such an unfavourable situation, India is looking at other alternatives. In a recent article appeared on Russia Today, about India’s media, demonstrated that current agreements between the US and India are in danger.
According to the article, “The Indian military has growing concerns that the US-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) it planned to buy may not survive in the ‘contested’ skies against its rivals and cost more than fully armed fighter jets.”
The Hindustan Times reported that India was seeking to buy combat drones for its air forces and navy. But the Indian army is reluctant to realize the agreement on the grounds that the drones would not function well in Kashmir and along the disputed border with China.
Moreover, Indian army officials are uncomfortable regarding the cost as the drones’ price “tag around $100 million for one drone, and $100 million more if equipped with laser-guided bombs and Hellfire missiles.”
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that his country would not “succumb to any pressure or influence in the matters of national security,” he said in response to US President Donald Trump’s statements over Kashmir caused further disturbances in India.
During a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Trump said Modi asked him to become a mediator for the decades-long Kashmir conflict. New Delhi refuted Trump’s claim but its main rival, Pakistan feels it has the upper hand now.
India was one of the closest allies of the Soviet Union since 1971, several months before the India-Pakistan war in December, but its relations with Moscow were hampered following the collapse of the USSR. Since then, New Delhi has gradually inched towards the US.
Once again in 2000, the relations with Russia have developed into a strategic partnership. A political initiative, the “Declaration on the India-Russia Strategic Partnership,” was aimed at strengthening bilateral ties.
Despite this positive stance, India’s close relationship with the US has sometimes experienced hiccups in developing into a trusted strategic part. India is likely to be affected from Washington’s Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which threatens to impose sanctions on certain companies that cooperate with Russia.
The US pressure on its allies, who intends to strengthen their relations with other superpowers, like China or Russia and seek alternative means of procuring essential weapons systems are frowned by officials in Washington.
(Saleem Samad, an independent journalist, recipient of Ashoka Fellow (USA) and Hellman-Hammett Award; Twitter @saleemsamad; Email: [email protected])
Relations between the United States and India are entering from turbulent phase to cold phase after the later plans to procure missile system from Russia. The relationship between two countries in two separate continents slumped when India plans to procure the S-400 missile system and the US stance on Kashmir are among the main reasons for this situation.
In the cat and mouse chase, the US pushed India into a corner seems to be causing more problems as India seeks alternative ways to increase its arsenal amidst a regional crisis. Despite the warning several times by the US, India is determined to purchase S-400 missile system from Russia.
Last year, the US Treasury Department finally declared that India could be removed from the US currency monitoring list of major trading partners because Washington has concern over the issue. Notwithstanding the pressure, India went ahead to establish close ties with Iran and attempted to find a way to overcome the embargo and sanctions imposed by the US.
On the one hand, the US would like India not to turn the rapprochement with Russia into an alliance and the threat posed by China has brought India and the US closer. The love and hate relations between India and the US are directly related to the arms issue. In such an unfavourable situation, India is looking at other alternatives. In a recent article appeared on Russia Today, about India’s media, demonstrated that current agreements between the US and India are in danger.
According to the article, “The Indian military has growing concerns that the US-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) it planned to buy may not survive in the ‘contested’ skies against its rivals and cost more than fully armed fighter jets.”
The Hindustan Times reported that India was seeking to buy combat drones for its air forces and navy. But the Indian army is reluctant to realize the agreement on the grounds that the drones would not function well in Kashmir and along the disputed border with China.
Moreover, Indian army officials are uncomfortable regarding the cost as the drones’ price “tag around $100 million for one drone, and $100 million more if equipped with laser-guided bombs and Hellfire missiles.”
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that his country would not “succumb to any pressure or influence in the matters of national security,” he said in response to US President Donald Trump’s statements over Kashmir caused further disturbances in India.
During a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Trump said Modi asked him to become a mediator for the decades-long Kashmir conflict. New Delhi refuted Trump’s claim but its main rival, Pakistan feels it has the upper hand now.
India was one of the closest allies of the Soviet Union since 1971, several months before the India-Pakistan war in December, but its relations with Moscow were hampered following the collapse of the USSR. Since then, New Delhi has gradually inched towards the US.
Once again in 2000, the relations with Russia have developed into a strategic partnership. A political initiative, the “Declaration on the India-Russia Strategic Partnership,” was aimed at strengthening bilateral ties.
Despite this positive stance, India’s close relationship with the US has sometimes experienced hiccups in developing into a trusted strategic part. India is likely to be affected from Washington’s Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which threatens to impose sanctions on certain companies that cooperate with Russia.
The US pressure on its allies, who intends to strengthen their relations with other superpowers, like China or Russia and seek alternative means of procuring essential weapons systems are frowned by officials in Washington.
(Saleem Samad, an independent journalist, recipient of Ashoka Fellow (USA) and Hellman-Hammett Award; Twitter @saleemsamad; Email: [email protected])
