The India, China, Russia Triangle

Surprisingly, the New Delhi meting of foreign ministers of India, China and Russia did not draw a wider notice. It could be because a major focus of the three-way talks was trade and energy, not conflict resolution, though tricky issues like terrorism and West Asia were on their agenda. ...

The New Delhi conclave provided a clue about the role that the trioka wants to play in the world when the three foreign ministers decided that they should meet more regularly. They were clear that ‘cooperation, rather than confrontation’ should govern the approach to regional and global affairs. And expectedly they called for ‘reforming’ the United Nations so that the world body becomes more ‘effective, reflecting the global realties’—something that some may interpret as a sop for Indian ambition to become a permanent member of the Security Council.

When the then Russian Prime Minister, Yevgeny Primakov, floated the idea of a cooperative alliance of the three countries in 1996 the Chinese showed little interest; India did not appear to be overenthusiastic either. The world has changed a great deal in the last 10 years. The foreign ministers of the three countries have met six times though these meetings were not structured summits; their last meeting in New Delhi had them closeted for over 100 minutes.

Perhaps a big impetus for this trilateral gathering came when President, Vladimir Putin had a one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Chinese President on the sidelines of the G-8 summit in St Petersburg last year. It was a clear signal that Russia was determined to make the trilateral relationship an effective instrument in global affairs since there was ‘so much convergence’ in their views on issues like terrorism in all its manifestations.

Changing global equations

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India is in a sound position to deal with the US, Russia and China without antagonising any one of them in today's multi-polar world

For India, the fast changing international scenario presents both serious challenges and opportunities. Much of the love feast between New Delhi and Washington over the past few years was motivated by the latter's compulsion to push India as a counterweight to China's burgeoning influence in the region. This may have to change as the Bush Administration prepares to cosy up to China so that the latter does not form an axis with Russia. The deal with the North Koreans could well be the harbinger for far closer Sino-American ties in the near future.

At the same time it would be neither in the interest of Beijing or Washington to push India back into the arms of the Russians considering that there are already huge linkages involving military and nuclear cooperation. Similarly, Russia has its own reasons to not push Washington too far or allow China to exploit a rerun of the Cold War to come out on top of the heap. Considering these circumstances, India may well be in a position to tango with all the three big boys without antagonising any of them.

To some extent, the recent trilateral conference between the foreign ministers of India, China and Russia is a part of a new endeavour by New Delhi to remove the impression that it had moved to close to Washington. Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee's recent visit to Iran had a similar purpose. Yet, there is little doubt that the US continues to be an extremely useful partner to this country even if we need to factor in its decline in power.

Most importantly, those responsible for crafting foreign policy would have to keep an open mind choosing specific responses and initiatives to specific challenges and opportunities in a world where there are several key players but no single winner.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1786850/posts

India to acquire new air-to-air missiles
Press Trust of India(PTI) ^ | 18 Feb, 2007

IAF to acquire air-to-air BVR missiles

NEW DELHI: To maintain its unchallenged dominance in beyond visual range (BVR) combat in the South Asian region, Indian Air Force has embarked upon a major plan to acquire longer range air-to-air missiles.

India's dominance in offensive air superiority operations is being dented by the supply of similar BVR missiles to Pakistan by the US in government-to-government sales.

This sudden move has spurred IAF officials to make quick efforts to purchase 120-km range air-to-air missiles. The acquisition of such missiles, which sport ramjet propulsion, will make IAF the lone air force in Asia to have such an unparalleled capability, top IAF officials said.

The acquisition of these missiles is being undertaken in tandem with moves to induct combat aircraft with active phased array radars.

The new 40 Sukhoi-30 advanced version MKI, whose purchase in a deal worth 2.6 billion dollars has been cleared by the government, and 126 medium range combat aircraft, tenders for which are expected to be floated by this month-end, will be equipped with the new radars, officials said.

These new radars will give IAF, for the first time, the capability to detect targets as far as 300 km away and the means to fire such longer range air-to-air missiles.

Till now, the IAF had an unchallenged dominance in beyond visual range combat with its array of MiG fighters equipped with R-27 REI and R-27 RETs missiles with a target lock on of 35 km for close combat and the longer range R-77 and French R-550 Magic Mantra missiles capable of shooting down targets 60 km away.

But the recent decision of the US administration to clear the supply of AMRAAM and AIM-9M Sidewinder beyond visual range missiles to Pakistan has eroded the IAF's dominance in air combat, officials admitted.

The US government has cleared the sale of AMRAAM and Sidewinder air-to-air missiles worth 240 million dollars to Islamabad to equip its new batch of 50 F-16 fighters.

"There are moves also to start indigenous development of such long range missiles by DRDO with possible foreign collaboration," DRDO sources said.

With the induction of three Phalcon airborne early warning and control aircraft between November this year and 2009, the IAF would get the capability to conduct and control airborne operations upto 400 km inside hostile airspace.

The new Su-30MKI, which India would be acquiring by 2009, would be equipped with Ibris active phased radars which will transform the fighters into a dedicated information weapons platforms.

Thanks to a large number of fighter exercises carried out with foreign air forces, IAF pilots have mastered beyond visual range combat even in an AWACS environment. "The pilots are all agog to train with longer range BVR missiles," an IAF official said.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1791750/posts

Pakistan has cost America $27 billion since 9/11

The Times of India ^ | 27 Feb, 2007 0007hrs |

WASHINGTON: A senior US administration official said Mus-harraf had made a number of assurances, but the bottom line was that what they were doing now was not working. "The message we're sending to him now is that the only thing that matters is results," he said. In a surprising revelation, the paper said ties between Musharraf and Bush "have always been tense," and cited officials involved in the debate as saying it was "especially fraught" at the moment. While there has been withering criticism of Pakistan and its role as the fount of international terror in private, US officials, from Bush down, have in public repeatedly praised Musharraf as a frontline ally, ostensibly to win his support.

The tactic, lubricated with large infusions of military and economic aid, was aimed at persuading a militarised Pakistan to turn against the same terrorists it had previously cultivated as a policy. But evidently, the persuasion has not worked very well. The administration now wants to ratchet up the pressure using the threat of aid cuts.

Pakistan is hopelessly dependent on foreign aid and will go bust if US pulls the plug on it. Its recent economic growth is fuelled by billions in aid and debt write-off from developed countries and Gulf allies. According to Selig Harrison, a south Asia scholar at the Center for International Policy, the total cost of Musharraf's cooperation in the war on terror has reached a staggering $27.5 billion since 9/11. Harrison estimates that economic and military aid has totalled $4.5 billion.

In addition, US is providing $5 billion in credit guarantees for the purchase of 62 F-16 jets and has orchestrated the postponement of debt repayments to aid donor countries totalling another $13.5 billion. "The subsidies to the armed forces — $4.5 billion so far and set to reach $7.5 billion in 2008 — are papered over in Pentagon statistics and have received little Congressional scrutiny," Harrison wrote recently.

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