In a development that will provide a boost to India’s maritime security, the Trump administration has authorised the sale of unarmed surveillance drones to India, the manufacturer said on Friday, as the two nations’ leaders prepare for their first face-to-face meeting.
India initiated its request to buy 22 Guardian MQ-9B unmanned aircraft for maritime surveillance last year. The deal is estimated to be worth about $2 billion. The offer is still subject to congressional approval.
The green light from the administration marks a further deepening in defence ties ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.
“We are pleased that the US Government has cleared the way for the sale of the MQ-9B Guardian to the Indian Government,” linden Blue, CEO of the manufacturer, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, said in a statement. Blue added that it would “significantly enhance India’s sovereign maritime domain awareness in the Indo-Pacific.”
Meanwhile, the US Government has said that the military deal with New Delhi is not aimed to pose any threat to Pakistan.
In a statement made before the media ahead of Modi’s visit to Washington DC, a senior White House official said that the US is interested in providing India with the kind of Defence technology it normally reserves for its closest allies.
“The US and India have mutual security interests that they want to advance, and we believe that the Defence sales that are being discussed will help advance those. It is not about Pakistan.
In the Defence deals we do take into account the regional situation. But some of the Defence systems that we’re talking about, we don’t believe will impact Pakistan. They may be different systems that we are transferring to Pakistan, but we don’t believe they represent a threat to Pakistan…We very much want to avoid a situation that escalates tensions between the two,” said the White House official.
The Indian Navy wants the surveillance drones, variants of the Predator drones, to keep watch over the Indian Ocean. The deal would be the first such purchase by a country that is not a member of North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
India, a big buyer of the US arms that was recently named by Washington as a major defence ally, wants to protect its 7,500- km (4,700-mile) coastline as Beijing expands its maritime trade routes and Chinese submarines increasingly lurk in regional waters.
But sources tracking the discussions say the US State Department has been concerned about the potential destabilising impact of introducing high-tech drones into South Asia, where tensions are simmering between India and Pakistan.
The White House official said Trump administration’s priorities and the nature of relationship with the two countries were different. He added that the US also has a Defence partnership with Pakistan and the two countries cooperate on security, Defence and counter-terrorism issues.
“I want to make the point here that US’ relationships with India and Pakistan really stand on their own merits and terms…With India, we’re building that strategic partnership. We see India’s role and influence growing. We like to encourage that trend. So, we’re looking for ways to cooperate on our mutual interests,” a senior administration official said while adding US encourages India and Pakistan to engage in a direct bilateral dialogue aimed at reducing tensions.
“I will simply note that the defence relationship is extremely important. The US is interested in leaning forward in providing high technology, the kind of technology it provides to its closest allies and partners,” the senior administration official said.
Meanwhile, during his meeting with Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that Modi’s Washington visit would strengthen the Indo-US relationship and help advance the common interest in fighting terrorism and promoting economic growth.