From September 6-8, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis held the inaugural India-US Ministerial 2+2 Dialogue. The talks were mostly dominated by defense agreements and alliances, and raised serious concerns for the whole South Asian region.
India has been designated a Major Defense Partner (MDP) of the US, which has committed the US to expand the scope of military cooperation with India. The rapid growth in bilateral arms trade and the qualitative improvement in levels of technology and equipment offered by the United States to India in recent years is evidence of this ever-growing cooperation.
The signing of a Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) will facilitate access to advanced defense systems and enable India to utilize optimally its existing US-origin arms platforms. The two countries announced that they were ready to begin negotiations on an Industrial Security Annex that would support closer defense-industry cooperation and collaboration between India and US.
All of these developments will enhance India’s military supremacy in the region but will destabilize regional security. It might force neighboring countries to increase their defense budgets.
India has a track record of hostile attitudes toward its smaller neighbors. Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh are all under pressure to increase their defense budgets in the name of deterrence. Meanwhile the whole region including India itself is suffering from the curse of poverty, with many people facing a lack of adequate food, clean drinking water, toilets and sanitation, health care and basic education. If an arms race starts, it might have adverse impacts on the social sector of the whole region, including India.
During the Soviet era, India was a close ally, receiving maximal assistance from the USSR in the early years of independence, but when Moscow was no longer in a position to help New Delhi, India changed affiliations and started tending toward the US. Currently, India is the second-biggest beneficiary of US assistance after Israel. But will the US be in a position to assist India forever? The US economy is not in very good shape, and tending toward decline.
The US may not be strict toward India on its imports from Iran, knowing that India depends on that country for its energy needs. But if this is accepted as a valid reason, it will open new avenues for sanction waivers for other nations as well, especially Japan and in Europe.
If India is allowed to go ahead and acquire S-400 missile systems from Russia, how one can justify the case of Turkey? The US has refused to deliver F-35s to Turkey, which also wants S-400. The US unilaterally canceled military training for Pakistan’s armed forces (not the first time the US has acted unilaterally). As a result, Pakistan may collaborate with other friendly countries and the US should not have any objection.
The Coalition Support Fund (CSF) is based on the amount of money Pakistan spent fighting against terrorism, and it wanted to be reimbursed. Being a partner with the US in the “war on terror,” Pakistan was fighting a US war. The unilateral cancellation of US$300 million in CSF reimbursements may also have a very negative impact on Pakistan’s fragile economy. It might also harm its capacity to fight against terrorism.
The US is prepared to give India a role in Afghanistan, which may not be a rational approach. Unlike Pakistan, India is far away from Afghanistan and has no cultural, historical, religious or ethnic links with it.
The US political system is well structured and there are checks and balances at many levels. I hope that the the US Congress, academicians, intelligentsia, think-tanks and civil and military bureaucracy think rationally and come up with better options for peace and security in South Asia.
Chances that US will alter it’s policy towards Pakistan is very remote. They want to squeeze Pakistan & give India more importance. India is repairing it’s relations with China too. Our wrong policies of the past are haunting us. We have to learn from the history and make Pakistan a more progressive country based on the vision of QAID otherwise we will suffer even more. Pakistan thinks that being a nuclear country they can do what ever they want & black mail the world. But that game is over. We have to be serious about our future or we will become a history and the forces trying to tear us apart will succeed. Religious right is the biggest problem of Pakistan. Religion is a good thing as long as it improves your level of morality. But in Pakistan it is used for feeding extremism & hatred. Pakistan is a very polarized society. India has lot of internal rifts too but they never go to a level where they put the very existing of India in danger.
India’s brilliance in tactics is far exceeded by her blindness in strategy. Time and again India chose the wrong path, and then ran fast on it into oblivion.
40 years of investment in USSR gave India zilch, or a Big Fat Zero (that Indians claim to have invented lol). Now in its dalliance with dying West, especially America, India will lose its shirt.
In contrast Paks anticipated events by 50 years no less. And so does China. 60 years ago while Khruschev flush with Sputnik bragged about burying Capitalism 6 feet under, Mao the wise advised his people to ignore America the paper tiger, and build their country. Today, USSR and America are history, and China is no 1.
Similarly, Paks should ignore India the paper tiger and build their country.
There is a sound scientific reason why India miscalculates while Paks anticipate. Hinduism is a religion embedded in the Agrarian era, and Mohammedan Islam in trading era. With Globalization and Free Trade those who follow Mohammed AS are like fish in water, and those who still stick to Ram are living in history.
The diversity in Pakistan is its strength. In India a weakness.
Our divisions are ideological that can be sorted out. In India the divisions are racial, and permanent. Caste (varna in Sanskrit is skin colour) where whites are high caste and darkies are low caste. Paks do not suffer from this curse that also afflicts India’s new friend USA.
Allah promises unity among believers, and disunity among infidels. And still you doubt?
Oh well, if US wants to give India a bigger role in Afghanistan and Afghanistan accepts it then we should send back all Afghan refugees & we should close our border with Afghanistan. Only then they will understand because India and Afghanistan are those 2 countries who do not understand the language of peace
The NATO supply shouldn’t be going through our country because they are not taking any sort of action against anti Pakistan terrorists based in Afghanistan
India and Pakistan are fooled by great game played by the US. Good news for the US arms manufacturer.
Syed Fazal Abbas : Masha Allah. Strong arguments.
Great! Sir.
Yes! India is such hostile that all the neighbouring nations, except Pakistan, cancelled SAARC summit in Pakistan supporting India. Only neighbour that’s going to be affected is none other than Pakistan. We may have poverty, considering the size of population but economy is quite robust enough to sustain any economic calamity, in fact we have entitled to consider ourselves transforming from aid receiving nation to aid giving nation, however the condition in Pakistan is worse and you know it well, you may check it one SAARC Wikipedia page. How much rant, it is not going to change. In one sentence, you just envy us, you envy our economic progress, diplomatic progress. You are perturbed because you are losing hold on US, especially, in this IMF bailout conditions. You and your nation are doing nothing but deluding yourselves. Pity on you.
I have suggested to fight against poverty, not only India but the whole region. It is absolutely up-to India either invest on defense or social sector. I have just given my suggestion only. No obligation!
Kunwar Singh ： Sorry! Too bias. No further comments.
I was sure as hell that this article was written by a Pakistani scumbag when he mentioned toilet and referred it to India. Very embarrassing article and very shameful writer. He says that India and Afghanistan share no cultural, historical or any other links; this assertion is completely false because we lot in common with India; our friendship is enough.
Zekrullah Daudzai
Laugh as much as you can, but the fact is the Pashtuns, Muhajirs, Balochs, Punjabis, Sindhis are all in the present government.
Of course there are always some who want more, or different. The better is the enemy of the good, said Voltaire.
Pakistan has been on the verge of annihilation (in the minds of its foes) since its inception, but it is 70 and counting. If Pakistan dies, it will be by its own hands, and as you can see, that scenario is looking far and remote by the day.
I think the poster should worry more about his own land that can not find a workable solution to governance. People sitting in glass houses should not be throwing stones at others. Any way, we wish our neighbours well. How can we help?
Zamir Awan ….if Pakistan were in place of India, its action would have been much more intensified than that of India’s. It is already spending 2.9% of its GDP, roughly $10 billion of its $300 billion economy, whereas India’s expenditure was $64 billion of its $ 2.9 trillion economy, which constitutes about 2.3-2.5% of GDP. So imagine what Pakistan would have done if it got 2.9 trillion in its pocket, considering the fact of military dominance over the civil government which is no less than a junta.
He has very lack of knowledge in history, remaining being engulfed with false pride, illogic and pomposity. He forgot that Hindu-Kush was a gateway of the trade route to India for central Asia and eastern Europe. Kanishka, the Kushan ruler, had his empire stretch from Afghanistan to Indian Sub-continent. There are many more apart from these.
Pakistan will progress the day when it realizes that it ia a third world impoverished shit hole that no one in the world cares baout, including china. With an insignificant gdp of 300 billion and a forex reserves of only 8 billion, you are in no position for an arms race with india, the world’s sixth largest gdp. You can either afford food or arms. The choice if yours. Your priority should to build schools and hospitals so that you don’t have to send your polio ridden malnourished population to India for treatment on free medical visa. India has different priorities. Our competitor is china not pakistan, so you better stay out or be ready to pay colateral damage.
Such a diminished mindset. Pakistan, so-called an Islamic "progressive" nation, so intuitive that it is struggling to sustain its economy and depending on a bailout from IMF and also depending on aids from other nations. Such an imbecile bigot.
India’s ambitious defense agreements with the US are beyond doubt a threat to the region’s already dwindling peace. The US military assistance to India is an act of hostility for all the neighbors of India.
Zekrullah Daudzai your comment is based on unrealistic propaganda against Pakistan. Pashtoons have shown an overwhelming support to Imran Khan’s in the recent elections. Baloch black-sheep tended by international anti-Pakistan forces are history now. Muhajirs too have given majority seats to Imran in Karachi. Pakistan thus has a very bright future. It is there to stay forever. Just wait and see.
Kunwar Singh: John-a-dreams. The genie is nothing more than a few worthless Indian-backed touts that are bound to perish. Wait till you wake up from your dream.
Dhiraj Tripathi you need to sit back, take a deep breath, remove the mask of hatred, forego twisting of facts, forget the textbook materials and write your statement again based on an unbiased analysis or the history. This may give you some peace of mind.
But the frustration evident in your language tells a different story. It shows Pakistan is the biggest pain in the arse for India.
You have a lot in common with India but the bondage with us is much much more. The Balauchis , Sindhis , muhajirs , Pakhtuns , Punjabis etc. are very happy here and facing the terrorist activities from all fronts with resilience. India as your well wished should also commit soldiers to join NATO forces to help you all and in the meantime you can settle your brethren of four million who have enjoyed our hospitality for a very long time and are a burden on our resources. Your true friends I’m sure will help you.
Pakistan is playing a double edge sword remember where was binladen hiding this reality cannot be ignored
Syed Fazal Abbas please tell that to the ahmadiyas, the shias, the hazaras, the baloch and people in kpk and PoK .
Zamir Awan for a nation whose defence and foreign policy is run by the army you talking of spending on social welfare schemes sounds hilarious. We want peace in south Asia but what about the terror camps operating from your soil ? The rattling of nuclear sabre every Friday? And the soon to be launched operation for khalistan …..
Pakistan is a delusional nation with a deep seated hatred for India fuelled by religious bigotry and venom infused over the generations.they can never be at peace with India no matter hoe much we try. India and Afghanistan have a long tradition and before partition it was common to see so many pathans in Indian cities. As a child I had a good friend with whom I grew up and he was an Afghan. Sadly after the Soviet invasion he went to Afghanistan and I never saw him again.
Hamaad Hashmi we are used to a hostile Pakistan. It no longer worries us
Our problem is your latest abbu…China
You are a sidekick and the only worry you can cause is in case of a conflict with China you will jump in.to take advantage of the situation. Beyond that you are insignificant so don’t give yourself more credit than is due. But seeing that all three are nuclear nations a conflict will serve no one any good.
We dont plan to do any gazwa -e-hind kind of mumbo jumbo so nobody needs to feel threatened by India .We are just bolstering our defence to deter any adventurism from the "iron brothers ". …So we are no threat to any nation in Asia.everyone knows the new sheriff in Asia and it’s sidekick who keep making threatening noises. We are and will always be a peaceful nation.
Rajiv Nayan your own 8 commandos got killed in that terrible surgical strike on out border check post
Kunwar Singh we are already fencing it