Israel will remain preferred ally

NEW DELHI: The Left may be seeking the downgrading of New Delhi’s ties with Tel Aviv, but Israel continues to be India’s preferred destination for accessing arms and weapons systems. Defence minister A K Antony told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that that over $5-billion worth of defence purchases were made from Israel between 2002 and 2007.

Mr Antony informed the MPs that all arms procurements from Israel were done strictly in line with laid-down procedures. Defending reciprocal visits by military commanders, he said these official visits were undertaken to discuss issues of mutual interest, including defence procurements.

The minister told the House that Messers ELTA, a leading Israeli company, was the lowest bidder for the Indian Air Force deal to purchase some radars. “However, no contract has been signed yet with the firm,” he said.

The decision to strengthen ties with Israel is a clear rejection of the Left’s demand for ending military cooperation with Tel Aviv. As Israel plays a key role in the conclusion of over 200 agreements for agricultural development in crucial areas like drip irrigation, greenhouse technology and horticulture in India, the UPA government considers it as a valuable ally.

With China collaborating with Pakistan in nuclear and missile fields, the government is against closing the option of accessing missile defence systems from Israel. At the height of the Kargil conflict, Israel had provided specialised guided munitions. Israeli teams had also helped the army interpret images taken by UAVs.

The alliance is critical to the forces as, among other things, Israeli avionics and weapon systems arm the Sukhoi-30MKIs, MiG-27s and MiG-21 Bisons. The association will also help the country to corner a share of the international arms market.