rkjindal91
FULL MEMBER
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2011
- Messages
- 260
- Reaction score
- 0
Fighter jet rebuff, Roemer exit, signal
US-India distance Apr 28, 2011, 09.58pm IST TNN [ Chidanand Rajghatta ]
WASHINGTON: In an alphabet soup of
acronyms that spell informal diplomatic
tie-ups featuring India, there's the
newbie BRICS, the neighbourhood SAARC,
the spread-out IBSA, the under-stated
BIMSTEC, the formidable ASEAN, and the hoary NAM, not to speak of the various Gs
that have nothing to do with spectrum:
from G-77 to G-20. But there's one big
association that has repeatedly failed to
live up to promise for much of this
decade: Indo-US. On Thursday, the emerging alliance was
dealt a significant blow when New Delhi
rejected two American firms from a
massive jet aircraft deal while pencilling
in two European firms for final selection. There was dismay in Washington at the
decision, particularly since the Obama
administration and proponents for a
strong US-India strategic alliance had
invested much energy in lobbying for the
two American fighter jets - from Lockheed Martin and Boeing - which were
in the race. "There is an acute sense of
disappointment in the US government
about this decision," said Ashley Tellis, a
Carnegie Endowment scholar who
authored a 140-page report titled
"Dogfight" on the India's Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) decision. "As best
I can tell, the downselect was made
entirely on the basis of the technical
evaluations - the cost of the aircraft or
the strategic considerations did not enter
into the picture." Indeed, Tellis, who was also a key figure
in the US-India civilian nuclear deal, had
indicated in his study that the
Eurofighter, one of the two finalists,
would edge to the top of the list in terms
of overall sophistication. But, he had argued, "having an American airplane in
the IAF livery would simply be
transformative for bilateral defence
relations and it would send an important
signal about the changing geopolitical
dynamics in South Asia." US officials, from President Obama to secretary of state
Hillary Clinton to ambassador Tim Roemer
in New Delhi, had sent out the similar
messages. The Americans were also keen
on the deal as an export factor which
would help job creation at home. But New Delhi, suddenly in thrall of
strengthening ties with BRICS and the
European Union, remained cool to US
entreaties even as the warmth of the
Obama visit appears to have faded
quickly. Evidently, the MRCA decision, as Tellis told ToI in an email, was largely
made on technical metrics at the expense
of strategic considerations. "The IAF, which is a fighter force, chose a
fighter pilot's fighter: airplanes that are
hot rods," Tellis explained, adding what
this leaves India with now is a choice
between two "incredibly expensive"
fourth-generation jets ($85million + for the Rafale and the $125million+ for the
Eurofighter by his estimates). If India
goes with the former, it will end up
literally bailing out Dassault which has
not sold a single Rafale abroad yet, he
added. Expectedly, proponents of the use of the
MRCA decision as a strategic choice are
pillorying New Delhi's call. "The UPA
government's decision to reject both
American proposals, of the F-16 and F/
A-18, demonstrates either a poor appreciation of the geostrategic aspect or
worse, indicative of a lingering anti-
American mindset," said Nitin Pai, a
Fellow at the Takshashila Foundation.
"This move will most certainly reduce
India's geopolitical leverage with the US military-industrial complex, at a time
when India needs it most." Pai, who also edits the journal Pragati,
the Indian National Interest Review,
maintained that India was being
"gratuitously generous" to Europe, where
Italy had blocked India's UNSC
candidature and other smaller countries had tried to wreck the US-India nuclear
deal. "Not buying fighter aircraft from a
US supplier is strategic stupidity of
enormous proportions," he added, while
mockingly asking whether "Europeans
will use their non-declining global superpower in support of India in AfPak,
East Asia, UNSC etc." For their part, the arms companies have
played it cool, aware that there is yet
more than $ 100 billion at stake as India
modernizes its military. Boeing, whose
F-18 Super Hornet lost out in the MRCA
deal, still has its heavy lift helicopters Apache and Chinook in play in a separate
deal, having already won contracts for
heavy lift transport planes. "We are
obviously disappointed with this outcome.
We believe we offered the Indian Air
Force a fully compliant and best-value multi-role aircraft for the defined
mission," the company said in a
statement, adding, "We will continue to
look for opportunities to help India
modernize its armed services and
enhance its aerospace industry." Tellis too suggested both sides should
look forward without rancor. "Whatever
India goes with, I hope the commercial
negotiations are concluded quickly and
that the chosen fighter enters the force
soon - IAF force structure will simply dissolve without the MRCA and the LCA,"
he warned. The larger question though is whether the
MRCA set-back to Washington will affect
the broader US-India relations, which
have been frequently bedevilled by trade
spats and strategic misperceptions.
Already, Washington is fuming about New Delhi not keeping its end of the
nuclear deal bargain. The annual strategic
dialogue between the two sides
scheduled for April had to be deferred
ostensibly because of regional elections
in India, but some analysts have suggested that it was because of the
nuke deal screw-up and the impending
MRCA rebuff. The sudden resignation of
US ambassador to India Timothy Roemer,
coming within hours of the MRCA decision
being made public, is also seen as a setback although Tellis believes it is not
linked to the MRCA call. Amid all this, the regional environment is
getting increasingly complex with a toxic
Pakistan upping the ante with
Washington and demanding India's
downsizing in Afghanistan as price for its
cooperation. US under secretary of state Marc Grossman headed out to New Delhi
last night on the first leg of his trip to the
region where more than is at
stake.
US-India distance Apr 28, 2011, 09.58pm IST TNN [ Chidanand Rajghatta ]
WASHINGTON: In an alphabet soup of
acronyms that spell informal diplomatic
tie-ups featuring India, there's the
newbie BRICS, the neighbourhood SAARC,
the spread-out IBSA, the under-stated
BIMSTEC, the formidable ASEAN, and the hoary NAM, not to speak of the various Gs
that have nothing to do with spectrum:
from G-77 to G-20. But there's one big
association that has repeatedly failed to
live up to promise for much of this
decade: Indo-US. On Thursday, the emerging alliance was
dealt a significant blow when New Delhi
rejected two American firms from a
massive jet aircraft deal while pencilling
in two European firms for final selection. There was dismay in Washington at the
decision, particularly since the Obama
administration and proponents for a
strong US-India strategic alliance had
invested much energy in lobbying for the
two American fighter jets - from Lockheed Martin and Boeing - which were
in the race. "There is an acute sense of
disappointment in the US government
about this decision," said Ashley Tellis, a
Carnegie Endowment scholar who
authored a 140-page report titled
"Dogfight" on the India's Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) decision. "As best
I can tell, the downselect was made
entirely on the basis of the technical
evaluations - the cost of the aircraft or
the strategic considerations did not enter
into the picture." Indeed, Tellis, who was also a key figure
in the US-India civilian nuclear deal, had
indicated in his study that the
Eurofighter, one of the two finalists,
would edge to the top of the list in terms
of overall sophistication. But, he had argued, "having an American airplane in
the IAF livery would simply be
transformative for bilateral defence
relations and it would send an important
signal about the changing geopolitical
dynamics in South Asia." US officials, from President Obama to secretary of state
Hillary Clinton to ambassador Tim Roemer
in New Delhi, had sent out the similar
messages. The Americans were also keen
on the deal as an export factor which
would help job creation at home. But New Delhi, suddenly in thrall of
strengthening ties with BRICS and the
European Union, remained cool to US
entreaties even as the warmth of the
Obama visit appears to have faded
quickly. Evidently, the MRCA decision, as Tellis told ToI in an email, was largely
made on technical metrics at the expense
of strategic considerations. "The IAF, which is a fighter force, chose a
fighter pilot's fighter: airplanes that are
hot rods," Tellis explained, adding what
this leaves India with now is a choice
between two "incredibly expensive"
fourth-generation jets ($85million + for the Rafale and the $125million+ for the
Eurofighter by his estimates). If India
goes with the former, it will end up
literally bailing out Dassault which has
not sold a single Rafale abroad yet, he
added. Expectedly, proponents of the use of the
MRCA decision as a strategic choice are
pillorying New Delhi's call. "The UPA
government's decision to reject both
American proposals, of the F-16 and F/
A-18, demonstrates either a poor appreciation of the geostrategic aspect or
worse, indicative of a lingering anti-
American mindset," said Nitin Pai, a
Fellow at the Takshashila Foundation.
"This move will most certainly reduce
India's geopolitical leverage with the US military-industrial complex, at a time
when India needs it most." Pai, who also edits the journal Pragati,
the Indian National Interest Review,
maintained that India was being
"gratuitously generous" to Europe, where
Italy had blocked India's UNSC
candidature and other smaller countries had tried to wreck the US-India nuclear
deal. "Not buying fighter aircraft from a
US supplier is strategic stupidity of
enormous proportions," he added, while
mockingly asking whether "Europeans
will use their non-declining global superpower in support of India in AfPak,
East Asia, UNSC etc." For their part, the arms companies have
played it cool, aware that there is yet
more than $ 100 billion at stake as India
modernizes its military. Boeing, whose
F-18 Super Hornet lost out in the MRCA
deal, still has its heavy lift helicopters Apache and Chinook in play in a separate
deal, having already won contracts for
heavy lift transport planes. "We are
obviously disappointed with this outcome.
We believe we offered the Indian Air
Force a fully compliant and best-value multi-role aircraft for the defined
mission," the company said in a
statement, adding, "We will continue to
look for opportunities to help India
modernize its armed services and
enhance its aerospace industry." Tellis too suggested both sides should
look forward without rancor. "Whatever
India goes with, I hope the commercial
negotiations are concluded quickly and
that the chosen fighter enters the force
soon - IAF force structure will simply dissolve without the MRCA and the LCA,"
he warned. The larger question though is whether the
MRCA set-back to Washington will affect
the broader US-India relations, which
have been frequently bedevilled by trade
spats and strategic misperceptions.
Already, Washington is fuming about New Delhi not keeping its end of the
nuclear deal bargain. The annual strategic
dialogue between the two sides
scheduled for April had to be deferred
ostensibly because of regional elections
in India, but some analysts have suggested that it was because of the
nuke deal screw-up and the impending
MRCA rebuff. The sudden resignation of
US ambassador to India Timothy Roemer,
coming within hours of the MRCA decision
being made public, is also seen as a setback although Tellis believes it is not
linked to the MRCA call. Amid all this, the regional environment is
getting increasingly complex with a toxic
Pakistan upping the ante with
Washington and demanding India's
downsizing in Afghanistan as price for its
cooperation. US under secretary of state Marc Grossman headed out to New Delhi
last night on the first leg of his trip to the
region where more than is at
stake.
