On Friday, US President Joe Biden extended US measures against Russia to include sanctions on the president Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister Sergei Lavrov,
But the growing Western reaction to Russia’s actions in Ukraine has left India in a precarious position.
brother in arms’
In form of Ukraine crisis The real problem for India is how it moves international sanctions against Russia.
India has historically had close ties with Moscow and is a major buyer of Russian weapons. Hence, it has avoided getting into the restrictions so far.
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New Delhi: India on Saturday refrained from voting on a UNSC resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine along with China and the United Arab Emirates. Russia exercised its veto, while eleven countries—the United States, Britain, France, Ghana, Kenya, Gabon, Ireland, Albania, Norway, Mexico and Brazil—supported the resolution.
On Friday, India also did not participate in the UN Security Council voting on a resolution which said the group of countries “condemn in the strongest terms” Russia’s “aggression” against Ukraine. This would have called for the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops.
Edit TOI: Dependence on Russian weapons is no longer viable
New Delhi understands that US sanctions on Russia are likely to have a serious impact on India’s defense supplies.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) database, Russia has been the top arms supplier to India over the past three decades.
SIPRI data shows that India’s dependence on Russian weapons has declined over the years.
This is largely due to India’s decision to broad-base its arms imports, increasingly turning to the US, France and Israel for weapons over the past 15 years.
However, more than 60% of the weapon systems used by the 1.5 million strong Indian Armed Forces are still of Russian origin.
Data shows that Russia accounted for almost half of India’s arms imports between 2016 and 2020.
Of the more than 3,000 main battle tanks of the Indian Army, over 90% are Russian T-72s and T-90S. India was also in advanced talks for the purchase of another 464 Russian T-90MS tanks.
Thus, despite India turning to different suppliers, Russian platforms remain the preferred choice of New Delhi. This is due to factors such as price competitiveness, relatively liberal technology transfer and familiarity.
to walk tight
According to experts, India’s decision to abstain from voting at the UNSC does not mean support for Moscow, but shows that New Delhi relies on its Cold War ally for energy, weapons and support in conflict with neighbours.
In the past, India has relied on Soviet support on the Kashmir issue with Pakistan and its veto power in the Security Council.
The war in Ukraine has also increased the challenges before India with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Both Pakistan and China are seen on the Russian side, and India believes that Moscow has the advantage of changing Beijing’s tough stance on the border issue.
C Raja Mohan, a senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute, told the Associated Press that the problem was India’s continued dependence on Russian weapons.
“It is not just a substantive question. But the fact is that India is in the middle of a war with China. India is locked in a one-on-one confrontation with China over a disputed border,” he said.
India’s acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile system, which it considers important in countering China, could also prove to be a hindrance in Indo-US ties.
Raja Mohan said, “The problem for India has just begun. Its urgent need is to come out of dependence on Russian weapons.”
Noor Ahmed Baba, a political scientist, told the Associated Press that Western countries would be unhappy with India, but they might not afford to isolate New Delhi altogether.
“Ultimately, countries balance principles with real politics and diplomacy,” he said. “Living with the West not only benefits India, but they also need India.”
(with inputs from agencies)
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