Russia has no plans to leave Indian arms market

Competition is growing on the Indian arms market. Contracts worth billions for the supply of various types of military hardware to India, are attracting more and more players like a magnet. And as for Americans, they demonstrate excessive zeal to win the Indian market.

However, Russia has no plans to lose its role as the leading player there. Therefore, the visit of the Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov to India, which he started on October 6th, is causing heightened interest in many countries.

According to Indian officials, more than 70 per cent of the Indian arms have become outdated and should be replaced. A considerable part of them was supplied by Russia 20 or even more years ago. The Russian armaments proved reliable, and India used them all these years.

But in the course of time there emerged more technologically advanced types of armaments, and India would like its foreign partners to supply them to it. The broadening of the military-technical cooperation with India is the key issue at the talks Anatoly Serdyukov is holding in Delhi.

Last month India’s Minister of Defence visited the USA, where he also discussed U.S.- India military cooperation with the U.S. military command. As a result, a number of agreements were signed and big contracts, due to be signed during the visit of the U.S. President Barack Obama to India next month, were specified. In the present-day struggle Russia can win only if it offers better goods under better terms.

Moscow and Delhi have long ago given up the idea to continue developing a “buyer-seller” relationship and launched joint production of high-tech military equipment, which India does with no other country of the world. None of the world’s countries has a long-term programme for military-technical cooperation with India either, like the one Russia and India signed in December of last year for the period till 2020.

The Director of the Centre for the Analysis of the World Arms Trade Igor Korotchenko says:

“Russia has proved a reliable, predictable and pragmatic partner, which, supplying arms to India, does not demand any political conditions.

As distinct from the USA, which under the influence of various political factors, at any moment, can either halt cooperation or freeze the contract, or even suspend the supplies of spare parts, Russia does nothing of the kind. So that the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force can meet both the challenges and the criteria of the 21st century, we offer our partner good, reliable and modern systems of armaments.”

Russia and India are sure that their military-technical contacts will continue developing successfully, despite the growing rivalry on the Indian arms market.

These contacts pose no threat to other countries, since the two countries are implementing a peaceful policy in both the region and the world at large. Serdyukov’s talks in Delhi can be regarded as preparations for the visit of the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to India, due to take place late this year. And military-technical cooperation will figure prominently during his stay in Delhi.