PIF: That’s the old Vikrant, by the way. India’s building a new version that will be indigenous.
Sukhoi-30mki et al: I hate to say it, but I would have expected nothing less than what the US contingent found. India is great on paper, but the reality often lags behind with many delays and missed deadlines. My bro-in-law is Indian, and outright told me that Indians are probably the worst project managers in the world, and that this is probably congenital rather than the result of a lack of training. He even told me that Indians need to be ruled; they just don’t function well in a society based on self-motivation.
There was probably a chance for Modi to provide that motivation, as he and the BJP both are more nationalist and authoritarian than the Congress party is, but Modi instead decided to pretend to be Obama. He went on extravagant foreign visits and gave lavish parties, and his administration has evidenced a serious case of tone-deafness.
Regardless, India is going to have to bite the bullet if they want to retain any kind of control of or influence over the Indian Ocean. Otherwise, they’re going to wake up one day and find themselves in a South China Sea situation writ large, with China building artificial islands on the reefs in the Palk Strait.
Sadly, someone is going to have to put their foot down to stop China’s aggression and it will mean a big war that could get out of control.
I wish China would just play well with the rest of the world.