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India, Israel, US Can Carve Out Cooperation On Defence Technology

(This was originally posted in The LiveMint by Elizabeth Roche)

With technology becoming one of the main drivers of contemporary international relations, defining politics, security and economics, India, Israel and the US can carve out trilateral cooperation focusing on defence technology, says a paper by the Mumbai based think tank Gateway House.

โ€œSuch potential collaboration will capitalise on the existing robust bilateral defence and security cooperation amongst the three countries. It also promises to give a technological edge to their militaries, develop interoperability and provide opportunities for exports,” says the paper authored by Sameer Patil, Fellow, International Security Studies Programme at Gateway House. Patil says the challenges to the three countries, that have substantial bilateral cooperation among them, coming together include Indiaโ€™s military ties with Russia which run afoul of ties with the US and Israelโ€™s defence ties with China.

The paper titled โ€œInserting India into US-Israel Defence Technology Cooperation,” argues that technology was shaping emerging potential alliances with UK prime minister Boris Johnsonโ€™s proposing a โ€œD-10″ ie a coalition of 10 democracies to create an alternative supply chain of 5G and other emerging technologies or the โ€œT-12″ proposed by two former US State Department officials to group together โ€œtechno-democracies” or those countries with top technology sectors, that are advanced economies with a commitment to liberal democracy.

For the US, Israel was already a โ€œprincipal military ally in West Asia.” It was a โ€œtechnologically advanced partner” in areas like defence, cybersecurity, renewable energy and food security. Israeli defence companies like Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) had an extensive engagement with US defence firms including the likes of Boeing and Lockheed Martin. โ€œSilicon Valley majors such as IBM, Intel and Google have tapped into Tel Avivโ€™s start-up ecosystem for years,” the paper said.

In the case of India, New Delhi had emerged as a principal partner of the US in the Indo-Pacific besides offering a large market for American defence industry. The signing of the 2005 โ€œFramework Agreement for Defence Cooperation”, it renewal in 2015, the elevation of ties to a โ€œcomprehensive global strategic partnership,” in 2020, all contributed to the growth in the India-US defence ties.

For Israel, substantial US foreign and military aid had enabled it to achieve a โ€œqualitative military edge over its quantitively superior Arab neighbors,” the paper says.

โ€œAs a Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA) of the US, Israel gets specific military benefits like advanced defence technologies on a priority basis and intelligence-sharing. The high degree of mutual trust between the two countries is also evident with Israel being the only country to receive unfettered access to American military technology and equipment such as the F-35 fighter jet,” it says.

In the case of India, New Delhi is already the largest purchaser of Israeli weapon systems. โ€œJoining hands with India in expanding the scope of bilateral defence cooperation to include the US, will not only reinforce its access to the Indian market, but also offer opportunities for exports to emerging markets in Asia and Africaโ€”Indiaโ€™s traditional defence export destinations,” the paper says.

For India, Israel is already a major defence partner with annual arms sales averaging $1 billion, โ€œthe mainstay of the bilateral relationship,” says the paper. Israeli radar and missile defence systems along with drones and avionics โ€œhave augmented the Indian militaryโ€™s surveillance and operational capabilities,” it says. Israel has also โ€œaligned itself” with the โ€œMake in India” initiative.

With the US, India has acquired the unique status of โ€˜Major Defense Partnerโ€™ in 2016 which opened access to advanced technology. This was followed by India receiving the Strategic Trade Authorisation-1 status in 2018, enabling access dual-use high tech items, it says. โ€œDefence trade and technology co-development and co-production are the two most important dimensions of this relationship,” it says.

On the flip side, Israel and the US โ€œhave already reached an advanced stage of research and cooperation for many of these technologies โ€” compared to India which is still discussing the implications of some technologies like AI and quantum computing, and expanding its technological capabilities in others ยฌโ€” such as robotics,” the paper says. The lengthy defence acquisition procedures of India could dampen the enthusiasm of start-ups, it warns.

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Kartik Sud

I am working as a News Author With the DefenceXP network, Observing LOC and LAC

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