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15-03-2023
Bureau Report + Agencies
NEW DELHI/ MOSCOW: Russia continues to be the largest defence supplier to India, even though its share fell from 62% to 45% between 2017 and 2022, a report says.
The findings come amid Delhi’s push to diversify its arms imports portfolio and boost its domestic industry.
France has benefitted from this as it’s now in the second place with 29% share, followed by the US at 11%.
The fall in Russia’s share coincides with calls for Delhi to take tougher a stand on the Ukraine war.
The report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) also said India continues to be the world’s largest arms buyer, even though it saw a drop of 11% in its total imports.
And Moscow still has a large chunk of the imports.
It has been a time tested ally of India and the two countries have shared a close defence relationship for several decades – the Indian Army is equipped with Russian-made tanks and rifles, while its air force uses Sukhoi fighter jets and Mi-17 helicopters.
Delhi has not explicitly condemned the Ukraine war but has, in its past statements on Ukraine, talked about the importance of “the UN Charter, international law, and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states”.
The atmosphere was tense at a recent G20 meeting when top diplomats from opposing sides met in Delhi.
Experts say the drop in Russian imports can be largely attributed to Delhi’s decision to look for new suppliers and also encourage its local manufacturing.
Sipri said that Russia’s position as the main arm supplier was “under pressure due to strong competition from other supplier states, increased Indian arms production” and “constraints on Russia’s arms exports related to its invasion of Ukraine”.
Meanwhile, France’s defence exports to India increased by 489% between 2013-17 and 2018-22.
Delhi’s orders to France included around 62 combat aircraft and four submarines, Sipri said.
France displaced the US, which saw its share dip from 15% to 11% between 2017 and 2022, to become India’s second largest supplier of arms.
India has been positioning itself as a leading voice of developing countries known as the Global South in recent years.
Now, as president of the G20, Delhi could not have a bigger stage on which to deliver.
The world’s 19 wealthiest nations plus the European Union account for 85% of global economic output and two-thirds of its population but as its foreign ministers meet in Delhi, any broader agreements that India hopes to deliver will largely depend on one key factor: the war in Ukraine.
When G20 leaders gathered last autumn in Bali, under Indonesia’s presidency, Russian missiles hit key Ukrainian infrastructure targets as world leaders sat down for dinner. The joint communique clearly showed differences, with India, China and Russia reportedly not agreeing to unequivocal criticism of the invasion.
Not much has changed since then: the war has continued with no sign of peace talks, the world remains as divided, if not more so, and many big economies are still in turmoil.
