Step by step, the Indian ruling class is strengthening its military alliance with the US and further militarizing the economy.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh went on a four day visit to the US which concluded on 25 August. Two agreements were signed during this visit, namely, a Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA) and a Memorandum of Agreement regarding the Assignment of Liaison Officers.
SOSA allows both the United States and India to request each other for priority delivery of certain items for their armed forces. It will ensure that Indian companies engaged in the production of arms and other war related equipment will supply on a priority basis whatever is demanded by the US armed forces. The Ministry of Defence of the government of India is supposed to make available to the US a list of such companies.
The US would like to get components for its armed forces produced by Indian companies. Having a list of Indian companies with which the US can strike direct deals will contribute to integrating the Indian arms industry with the US military-industrial complex.
India is the 18th country with which US has a SOSA agreement. The first 10 agreements were made with Western European countries and were related to the deployment of their armed forces during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Those countries relied on American arms and needed the timely supply of spare parts.
The Ukraine war has exposed problems in the supply chain for American arms. In the course of exporting arms to Ukraine for use against Russia, the US discovered shortage of supply of some items. It therefore wants to diversify its base of suppliers. The eight SOSA agreements struck by the US with countries including India over the past year must be seen in this light. At the same time, the US has also liberalised export controls, in order to transfer high tech weapons to countries whose ruling class have shown willingness to align with the global strategy of the US.
It must be noted that the SOSA agreement is non-binding. This provides India with the flexibility to not fulfil the SOSA request if the circumstances do not allow for it. In the same way, it allows US not to fulfill the request of India.
The US and India are in the middle of negotiations on an agreement known as Reciprocal Defense Procurement (RDP) agreement. The RDP agreement ensures that the signatory nation will not discriminate against the suppliers from its counterpart when it comes to arms procurement. This means Indian companies can bid for arms contracts from the US Department of Defence in competition with US companies. It also means that US companies can bid for military contracts from the Indian Ministry of Defence in competition with Indian companies. This would be binding on both countries.
It is to be noted that India is the biggest importer of arms in the world. Russia is at present the biggest supplier of arms to India, followed by France and the US. The US wants to replace Russia as the biggest exporter of arms to India. The agreement on SOSA as well as the ongoing negotiations on an RDP agreement are steps in this direction.
On 2 September, the defence acquisition council (DAC) of the government of India announced the decision to procure military hardware worth lakhs of crores of rupees. The Indian Army will induct 1,770 future-ready combat vehicles (FRCVs) —a futuristic main battle tank — to modernize the Armored Corp at a cost of Rs 45,000 crores. The Indian Navy will induct seven more Project 17-B stealth frigates at a cost of 75,000 crores. The Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant will purchase 26 Rafael aircraft at an estimated cost of Rs. 50,000 crore.
The Memorandum of Agreement on Liaison Officers paves the way for India to station three Colonel rank officers at key US military bases. These include the Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii, the Special Operations Command in Florida, and the Combined Maritime Forces in Bahrain. It also paves the way for US liaison officers to be stationed within the Indian Armed Forces.
What do these developments show? They show that the Indian bourgeoisie is rapidly militarizing the economy and strengthening its military alliance with the US. While it is portrayed as being for the sake of defence, it is in fact driven by the aggressive imperialist aims of the ruling classes of both the US and India.
The enormous amount of money being spent on arms, which is promoted as being in the national interest, is unproductive expenditure. It is a massive drain on the economy. At the same time, it is a source of assured maximum profits for the Indian and foreign capitalists who are involved in the production of arms and other war equipment.
US imperialism is a ferocious warmongering power which is the biggest enemy of humankind. In its drive to establish a uni-polar world under its dictate, the US has been embroiling entire regions in bloody wars. It is using the peoples of other countries as cannon fodder to achieve its aims. At the present time, the US is egging on the imperialist ambitions of the Indian bourgeoisie, to advance its own interests in the Asia-Pacific region.
The working class and people of our country must resolutely oppose the growing Indo-US military alliance, which is extremely dangerous for peace and security, both in our immediate neighbourhood and in the whole world.