The US is preparing a military assistance package for India to deepen security ties and reduce state dependence on Russian weapons, said people who are familiar with this problem.The package that is being considered will include a foreign military financing of $ 500 million, according to one person, which will make India one of the biggest recipients of such assistance behind Israel and Egypt. It is unclear when the agreement will be announced, or what weapons will be included.
This effort is part of a far greater initiative by the administration of President Joe Biden to the Indian court as a long -term security partner, despite being frustrating in Russia because of the invasion of Ukraine, according to a senior US official who asked not to be named.Washington wanted to be seen as a reliable partner for India in all boards, the official added, and the government worked with other countries including France to ensure the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had the equipment needed. While India has diversified its military platform far from Russia, the US wants to help make it happen faster, the official said.
The main challenges remain how to provide Indian main platforms such as fighter jets, naval ships and battle tanks, the official said, added that the government was looking for breakthroughs in one of these fields. The financing package that is being discussed will not help much to create a type of system – which can cost billions or tens of billions of dollars – more affordable, but it will be a significant symbolic sign of support.
The Indian Foreign Ministry does not immediately respond to requests for comments. Officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs and the US Embassy in New Delhi did not immediately respond to requests for comments.India is the largest Russian weapons buyer in the world, although it has reduced that relationship lately. Over the past decade, India has bought more than $ 4 billion in military equipment from the US and more than $ 25 billion from Russia, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
India’s dependence on Russia for weapons against neighboring China and Pakistan is a great reason for the Modi government to avoid criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin for the war in Ukraine. When the US, Europe, Australia and Japan piled up economic sanctions against Russia, India had delayed and instead continued the import of Russian oil.While the US and its allies initially frustrated with India, they have tried to seduce the Modi government as the main security partner-including against China in the Indo-Pacific region. Modi will join the Summit with Biden next week in South Korea which also includes members of the Japan and Australian Quad, and the Indian leader also received an invitation to join the group of seven leaders in Germany next month.
Defense Minister Lloyd Austin delivered points about China when he spoke at a press conference in April with State Secretary Antony Blinken, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaisankar.”We do all this because the United States supports India as the leader of the defense industry in Indo-Pacific and clean security providers in the region,” Austin said. “And we all understand the challenges we face there. The People’s Republic of China is trying to change the region and the international system more broadly in a way that serves its interests. “
The link between the US and India has been getting deeper over the past two decades, with both parties reaching an agreement that allows more interoperability between their military platforms.Support for India is a rare point of the Bipartisan Association in Washington, and Biden administration has hinted that they are not interested in sanctioning New Delhi for their recent decision to buy a S-400 missile defense system from Russia. The purchase of the same system Turkey is very damaging to US relations with NATO allies. However, it still needs to be seen how far India will enter the US military assistance. Russia historically supplies most of the Indian military hardware, including jet and fighter missiles, as well as almost all its tanks and helicopters. The Modi government has told the alternative US to move fully from the import of Russian weapons too expensive, according to people who are familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
