Indian-Israeli
Defence Cooperation: The Elusive Strategic Partnership – Analysis
By
Richard A. Bitzinger (April 11, 2013)
Indian-Israeli
defence cooperation is mainly based on Israeli arms sales to India, which are
increasingly critical, in military and economic terms, to both countries.
However much Israel might like to expand this cooperation into a larger
strategic partnership, India appears content with keeping this relationship
limited and tactical.
DEFENCE
COOPERATION has always been a low-key but essential element in relations
between Israel and India. While most of this cooperation has taken place below
the radar of international affairs, it has nonetheless been critical to the
expansion of ties between these two countries since the establishment of
bilateral diplomatic relations in 1992.
At
issue – particularly for Israel – is whether growing military ties can cement a
broader “strategic partnership” between Tel Aviv and New Delhi.
A
symbiotic relationship?
Most
of this cooperation has taken the shape of Israeli arms sales to India. Israel
has become India’s second largest arms supplier, after Russia, and in
particular niches, it is perhaps the leading provider of advanced armaments and
military technology to the Indian military.
During the first decade of the 21st
century, Israel has transferred an estimated US$10 billion worth of military equipment
to India. These deals include unmanned aerial vehicles and armed drones,
missiles, and targeting pods. Of particular note, Israel has supplied India
with radar systems for airborne early warning and missile defence.
In
many ways, Israeli arms transfers to India have been a mutually beneficial,
almost symbiotic relationship. Israeli technology fills critical gaps in
India’s woefully deficient defence industrial base. After more than 50 years of
effort, India’s defence industry has been unable to deliver the vast bulk of
advanced military equipment its military demands, leaving it dependent on
foreign suppliers.
Israel
is often a ready, no-strings-attached arms supplier. Moreover, it has been
willing to transfer technology and manufacturing know-how to help improve
India’s defence industry.
At
the same time, India is a critical market for an Israeli arms industry that
desperately needs arms exports in order to survive. Fully 75 percent of
Israel’s defence sales are to overseas buyers. Those revenues provide necessary
income to underwrite military R&D programmes that in turn aid Israel’s own
defence, such as the Iron Dome short-range missile defence system.
Expanding
cooperation beyond arms sales
While
arms sales constitute the largest chunk of Indo-Israeli defence cooperation,
other forms of collaboration have emerged. In particular, Tel Aviv and New
Delhi recognise that terror is a threat common to both countries (particularly
after the 2008 Mumbai attack), and Israel has offered to cooperate with India
in fighting terrorism, including intelligence-sharing, counter-terrorist
training, and joint exercises.
Both
countries have also exchanged military visits in an effort to expand
military-to-military ties. Finally, Israel and India have expanded their
cooperation in outer space, with India launching two Israeli surveillance
satellites. Co-development of earth-observation satellites – an area where
Israel has considerable expertise – is also a possibility.
Indo-Israeli
defence cooperation: tactical or strategic?
One
can perceive the Indo-Israeli defence relationship in two ways. First, it is at
present mainly a buyer-supplier relationship, that is, a simple case of a
motivated customer (the Indian military) and an equally motivated seller (the
Israeli defence industry) securing a mutually beneficial but limited
relationship. In other words, Israel sells weapons to India, India buys them,
and that’s that.
On
the other hand, there may be some – particularly in Israel – who like to build
upon this basic supply-and-demand relationship and turn it into something
bigger. A true “strategic partnership” between Tel Aviv and New Delhi would
particularly bring benefits to Israel.
Such
a strategic partnership would help Israel in a number of ways. It could, for
example, induce New Delhi to use its position as a leading player within the
Nonaligned Movement (NAM) to soften or mitigate the NAM’s anti-Israeli
policies. It could also provide Israel with an important partner in the
struggle against Islamist terrorism, given their common challenges.
Above
all, perhaps, Israel would probably like to see India also demarcate or lessen
its relationship with Iran, which is seen by Tel Aviv to be a major threat to
the Jewish state. In this regard, warming US-Indian ties (particularly in the
nuclear area) could help Israel by creating another pressure point by which to
entice New Delhi to reverse its often pro-Tehran stance. For example, India has
several times voted to censure Iran in the IAEA over Iran’s nuclear programme.
Limits
and constraints
Nevertheless,
beyond arms sales and a few other areas of defence cooperation, it is unlikely
that Israel will soon, if ever, realise a strategic partnership with India.
While India maybe be very important to Israel’s foreign and security policy,
New Delhi sees the relationship in a much more limited respect. India has too
many internal constraints – a Muslim population of 160 million, an ardently
anti-Israeli left – to ever get too cozy with Israel.
India
can always find other arms suppliers to keep the Israelis continuing to offer
weapons systems absent any broader political deals. Above all, New Delhi is
unlikely to abandon its longstanding and multifaceted relationship with Iran,
in exchange for closer ties with Israel, which may or may not pay larger
dividends. (What is this multi faceted relationship?? What has it achieved!!)
Israeli
arms sales to India may be mutually beneficial, but they are largely confined
to what they are: a limited economic, military-technical connection. So long as
New Delhi sees Indo-Israel defence cooperation as a tactical relationship, then
that is probably where it will remain.
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