Diplomatic dexterity that got India Russia-made S-400 air defence missile system despite threats by US
It was India’s diplomatic dexterity and deft balancing of ties that led to the sourcing of Russia-made S-400 air defence missile system amid threats of sanctions by the US.
New Delhi had ignored US threats of sanctions, emanating from Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). The Act was okayed in August 2017 during the US President Donald Trump’s first term. The CAATSA requires imposing curbs on nations that have “significant” defence relations with Russia.
In an act of playing to both the US and Russia, India, in September 2018, signed an agreement with the US on the exchange of military information — Communications, Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), a sensitive agreement that allows the United States and India to share real-time details for better coordination between the two militaries.
A month later, in October 2018, New Delhi went ahead with the $5.4-billion deal to procure the S-400 air-defence missile system from Russia. An Indo-Russian joint statement after a meeting of Narendra Modi and Vladimir Putin in New Delhi read: “Both sides welcomed the conclusion of the contract for the supply of the S-400 long-range surface-to-air missile system to India.”
The move was like a balancing act that India still maintains between Russia and the US.
Nirmala Sitharaman, who was the Defence Minister then, had remarked, “We have told the US Congress delegation (that visited India) that it is a US law and not a UN law.”
On being asked if she meant that the law did not apply to India, Sitharaman said, “Of course, it does not.”
India has a strategic partnership with the US but it had made it clear to Washington that India-Russia military relations were separate from India-US ties and that these were not inter-connected.
The CAATSA has a provision for a waiver and New Delhi argued out its case to the US. The US has reacted to the S-400 deal, saying, “The intent of CAATSA is to impose costs on Russia and is not intended to impose damage to the military capabilities of our allies (India)… The waiver authority is not a blanket waiver. Waivers are considered on transaction basis. We cannot prejudge any sanction decisions.”
India got five systems costing about $5.4 billion. These provide an “umbrella coverage” against any air-borne threats, including nuclear missiles, stealth aircraft, fighter jets, missiles, UAVs etc. The radars on ground can track around 300 targets and then guide missiles to shoot down around three dozen targets simultaneously over a range of 400 km.
For example, an S-400 system deployed near Jalandhar in Punjab can track aircraft flying well over Islamabad and Peshawar in Pakistan. It forms the topmost layer of integrated the air defence grid that includes Akash, Barak, QRSAM, Spyder and L70 modified weapon.
Moscow continues to be the single largest supplier of weapons and military equipment to India. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), on March 12 this year, released its annual report “trends in international arms transfers”. Making an assessment for a five-year block (2020–2024), it said Russia accounted for 36 per cent of India’s arms imports.
In July 2022, Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna moved a legislative amendment in the US House of Representatives, seeking to exempt India from CAATSA.
The amendment wanted the Joe Biden administration to use its authority to exempt India from CAATSA in order to deter aggressors like China.
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