|
New
Delhi, 06
January 2005
India–Israel
relations have featured several times on our site in
the past, which may all be accessed from ‘Previous
Stories’ on the ‘What’s Hot’ page. Here is
another analysis in the same vein.
In
the Intelligence field there were bonds even before
diplomatic relations were established, but in recent
years these have developed into commercial links and
a healthy military supplier, anti terrorist adviser
and more recently nuclear cum BMD helper. USAs
sanctions against India after Pokhran II blast aided
the process and the BJP Government learnt how to
order Israeli equipment which benefited both sides.
The Israelis understood India’s needs, kept
secrets well and the services found it easy to deal
with them and many close connections were developed.
Service Chiefs of both counties confided in each
other.
Many
Indian journalists have been well hosted in Israel
and at Aero India 2005 (Bangalore, 05–08
February), Israel is expected be in full force. They have
on offer upgrades for the MiG 29, MiG 27 and Navy
helicopters. The modus operandi of purchases from
Israel has
proved very effective and Naval UAVs were
successfully flown off the Cochin and Andaman coast,
even in the Tsunami relief operations. The list of
purchases include 100 UAVs (Searcher and
Heron), Tavor and Galil rifles, special forces gear,
litening pods, radars including Green Pine, assorted
ammunition, EW equipment, Barak and other missiles
and upgradation of 130 mm guns with Soltam kits.
Besides these are collaborations with HAL for the
Dhruv and other items and with BEL for Tadiran
communication sets and Electro optics.
The
$1.5 billion Phalcon deal is the one that will put
India on the world stage for net centric warfare in
2007, if all the three services and ISRO
collaborate, and the BrahMos flourishes. The Navy
and the IAF have very close links with Israelis and
Israel has professionally hosted many Indian senior
officers and now opened four offices in India. There
was much speculation that the UPA Government
would lessen the India–Israel bonds but that has
not happened.
Focus
on Israel’s nuclear story would be in order before
we put up excerpts from Harsh Pant’s article,
since the opposition
recently chided the PM in
Parliament, on the UPA Government’s nuclear
policy. PM Manmohan Singh affirmed there was
certainty in the country's nuclear policy, which was
based on "continuity and national consensus”.
He said, ”These are issues best kept above
partisan politics. I categorically say there is no
uncertainty in our nuclear policy." Israel can
tacitly help India in BMD and Indian intelligence
connections are very good with Israel. The Arrow
system is on offer and the US is offering the
Patriot PAC 3 and Russia has warned India must take
the PMU 300 series and not ‘mix and match’. For
India to have a credible nuclear defence and
protection Israel can be a good bet!
Israel’s
Nuclear Story
During
October 1986, revelations of Israeli nuclear
technician Mordechai Vanunu to the ‘Sunday
Times’ indicated that Israel has produced tritium
and lithium deuteride suggesting that Israel may
have developed “boosted” nuclear weapons.
Seymour Hersh again in a 1991 publication, relying
on United States intelligence analysts and
“knowledgeable” Israelis, stated that Israel
possessed a significant number of low-yield
enhanced-radiation type warheads mainly in the form
of artillery shells and land mines as well as
full-fledged thermonuclear weapons. An articulate
1994 report identified Nahal Soreq as the Israeli
installation for conducting research on nuclear
weapons design. Assembly is done at Yodefat. Nuclear
gravity bombs are sheltered at Kfar Zekharya while
the tactical nuclear weapons at Eilabun just like
India’s bombs are stowed at BARC.
The
Israeli Heyl Ha’Avir (Air Force) deploys missiles
and numerous aircraft capable of delivery of nuclear
weapons and India can learn form their knowledge.
Presently the premier strike platform is the F-15I
Ra’am (Thunder). Based on United States F-15E
Strike Eagle the first Israeli squadron was declared
operational during 1999. In accordance to “Begin
doctrine” put forward by ex Israeli Prime Minister
Menachem Begin, Israeli F-16s destroyed the Iraqi
plutonium-producing Osiraq research reactor in a
daring air raid on June 7, 1981 to “block any
attempt by adversaries to acquire nuclear
weapons”. Top cover was provided by the
F-15s.Today and we have the SU 30 MKI. and Green
Pine radar, which India reportedly bought, which is
said to be capable of tracking ballistic missiles
from a range of up to 500 km while intercept of the
attacking missile may occur 140 km away at an
altitude of 60 km.
Excerpts From MERIA
–– The Middle East Review Of International
Affairs
Volume
8, No. 4.Article 6 - December 2004
India-Israel
Partnership: Convergence and Constraints
Coutersy:
Harsh
V. Pant
There
has been a steady strengthening of India's
relationship with Israel ever since India
established full diplomatic relations with Israel in
1992, despite Indian attempts to keep this
flourishing bilateral relationship out of public
view. A flourishing Indo-Israeli relationship has
the potential to make a significant impact on global
politics by altering the balance of power, not only
in South Asia and the Middle East, but also in the
larger Asian region, which has been in a state of
flux in recent times. However, notwithstanding the
convergence of interests on a range of issues
between India and Israel, this bilateral
relationship will have to be carefully managed
because of a host of constraints which circumscribe
this relationship. This study examines those factors
which are bringing the two nations increasingly
closer and the constraints that might make it
difficult for this relationship to achieve its full
potential.
A
flourishing Indo-Israeli relationship has the
potential to make a significant impact on global
politics by altering the balance of power, not only
in South Asia and the Middle East, but also in the
larger Asian region, which has been in a state of
flux in recent times.
Convergence Of
Interests
When
Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon was given a red
carpet welcome during his visit to India in
September 2003, the world was forced to take notice
of how dramatically the bilateral ties between India
and Israel have grown since the early 1990s. …The
terror attacks of September 11, 2001, and their
aftermath also made the two nations realize the
importance of cooperating on a larger scale to
counter terrorism.
It
was in this respect that the Indian national
security advisor, Brajesh Mishra, outlined a
proposal in a speech to the American Jewish
Committee in Washington in May 2003 that India,
Israel, and the United States should unite to combat
the common threat of Islamic fundamentalism. He
argued that democratic nations that face the menace
of international terrorism should form a
"viable alliance" and develop multilateral
mechanisms to counter this menace.
India
and Israel not only exchange crucial intelligence
information on Islamist terrorist groups but Israel
is also helping India to fight terrorism in Kashmir
by providing important logistical support such as
specialized surveillance equipment, cooperation in
intelligence gathering, joint exercises, and
cooperation to stop money laundering and terror
funding. The tactics used by the Israeli Defense
Forces (IDF) in the guerilla and urban warfare it
wages against Palestinian terror in the West Bank
and Gaza Strip can be fruitfully adopted by the
Indian security forces in countering insurgency.
With
huge investments in research and development,
Israeli weapon systems are considered the cutting
edge in various areas of the international arms
market, even compared to American and European
products. A large part of the imported equipment to
modernize the Indian Army battalions as part of the
Rs. 3, 290 crore (over $700 million) investment is
also likely to come from Israel.
India
and Israel are also currently negotiating the
possible sale of the Arrow-II anti-ballistic missile
defense system to India, which wants to strengthen
its air defense capabilities. Though Israel is more
than willing to sell the system, it needs American
approval since the U.S. was a collaborator in the
project. However, India has already acquired the
advanced "Green Pine" fire control radars
from Israel. This is a transportable phased-array
radar which forms a crucial component of the Arrow
system and can detect and track incoming missiles
from up to 500km away.
There
has been a six-fold increase in India's trade with
Israel in the last decade with India becoming
Israel's second-largest trading partner in Asia in
non-military goods and services. India's
non-military trade with Israel reached $1.27 billion
in 2002 from just $202 million in 1992, which is
still not commensurate with the vast potential.
Also, a single product, diamonds, accounts for
nearly 65 percent of total trade.
New
areas of cooperation have also been identified by
the two states, including the agricultural sector,
farm research, science, public health, information
technology, telecommunications, and cooperation in
space. Israel will also be installing a set of three
wide-field ultra-violet telescopes on India's GSAT-4
satellite that will be launched in 2005. India and
Israel have decided to set up a joint fund for
research and development, with the aim of promoting
technology-based trade and collaboration that will
help them tap into the global market together.
India's
Relations with Iran
Another
constraint on India's enhanced engagement with
Israel is India's flourishing relations with Iran.
In fact, the RAND Corporation of the United States
has termed this relationship as "the Tehran-New
Delhi axis" and in its opinion, it is one of
the ten international security developments that are
not getting appropriate attention.And this is
primarily because of the impact that closer ties
between India and Iran might have on the Middle
Eastern political dynamic, and which might not
necessarily help U.S. interests in the region.
Conclusion
The
current international environment, however, is
particularly favorable to a deepening of
Indo-Israeli ties. How far the two sides are willing
to make use of this opportunity depends ultimately
on the political will in the two states. The people
of India and Israel have a long history of
civilizational contact and it is only natural for
the two states to cooperate more closely with each
other on issues ranging from defense cooperation and
counterterrorism to trade and cultural exchanges.
There are significant mutual benefits that the two
states can gain from a vibrant partnership with each
other.
*Harsh
V. Pant is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of
Political Science at the University of Notre Dame,
Indiana (United States). His research interests
include international security issues and South
Asian security.
|