All are welcome to participate, provided they add value to Indian interests
The extent to which India's defence diplomacy has changed, can be understood by two recent developments. The first is that lockheed Martin and Tata Advanced Systems have inked a pact to jointly manufacture F-16 fighter planes in India. And the second is Union Minister for Defence Arun Jaitley's visit to Russia as the head of a military delegation to explore greater collaborations between New Delhi and Moscow in defence matters. The two subjects are a good indicator of the road India has taken to boost its defence requirement. At a superfluous level, it may appear to be a balancing act between an old friend and a new partner. But the Modi Government's conscious push is far from such manoeuvring and more to do with placing the country's interests at the core. Countries dealing with India in the area of defence procurement, whether it is France or Israel, besides Russia and the US, understand and appreciate the new normal. And so, understandably, none of them is unduly worried by India's decision to open up its defence basket to a variety of suppliers. However, the timing of the lockheed Martin-Tata deal is significant. It comes days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to make his first visit to the US after Donald Trump took over as President. The finalisation of the agreement, although a private affair, does offer a welcome backdrop to the trip, especially as Modi and Trump need all that they can get, to make the first ever meeting between them a good one. Prime Minister Modi had struck a wonderful rapport with President Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama. It would be unfair to expect a similar chemistry to be had this soon, and that is why there are muted expectations from the Prime Minister's forthcoming visit. But we never know; it's possible that the two leaders may end up getting along famously. The fact that both have placed their respective nations ‘first', does not automatically mean the creation of an arena of confrontation. For instance, the F-16s’ manufacture in India will give a boost to the Government's Make in India programme, while at the same time not rob Americans of jobs. After all, if lockheed Martin does well internationally, it will reflect on its employment generation potential back in the US.
With Russia, defence cooperation is an ongoing process, and it is only getting better despite India's recent moves to diversify its supplier list. A very large part of the Indian military inventory (roughly a little more than 60 per cent) is still Russian and needs Moscow's support to keep it oiled and ready for use. In addition, several projects relating to battle-tanks and nuclear-powered submarines are in the pipeline. But defence is only one part of the Russia-India friendship; the others range from social to cultural to people-to-people contacts. In sum, that Russia and the US should be competing in a healthy way to win over Indian orders, can only be a cause of satisfaction for this country.