The Hindu : `India preferred over China for Russian defence supplies'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 02, 2002

International

International

`India preferred over China for Russian defence supplies'

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW DEC. 1. Russia is giving India a clear preference over China in defence supplies, even though both are viewed by Moscow as its strategic partners, a Russian think-tank said in a fresh report.

With the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, visiting China and India on the same overseas tour this week, analysts' attention is focussed on Russia's arms sales to its two biggest customers. Having analysed the two markets, the Moscow-based Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST) came to the conclusion that India has a clear edge over China in getting advanced military technologies from Russia.

``Russia sanctions not only the transfer of more advanced hi-tech weapons to India, but also the licenses for the production of critical subsystems: In the case of China, such deals are blocked by the Russian Defence Ministry.''

The reason for this difference in policy is that Russian strategists do not foresee any conflict of interest between Russia and India, whereas China is perceived as a potential rival and threat to Russia, given the long common border and growing Chinese migration to sparsely populated regions of Siberia and the Far East. While India and Russia roughly account for 30 per cent of Russia's defence exports each, there is an important qualitative difference in these supplies.

``The main difference in Russia's weapon export strategy towards China and India is that while China has far bigger financial resources, its military-technical ties with Russia are hampered by formidable military-political risks run by Russia which compel the Russian Defence Ministry to restrict the sale of sophisticated defence systems to China,'' the CAST study said.

Russian exports of combat aviation to India and China are given as a typical example of Moscow's differentiated policy towards both. While India has obtained an in-depth license for the manufacture of Russia's most sophisticated SU-30MKI fighter plane, including the advanced AL-31FP engine, China will have to obtain engines for the planned licensed production of 200 SU-27SK jets from Russia.

``A broad comparison of weapon acquisition policies pursued by India and China shows that while China gives priority to a rapid build up of air force strength with a more cautious and slow progress in the quality of hardware, India prefers to buy fewer, but top-of-the-line SU-30MKI jets, which have no rivals in their class, with the exception of the U.S. F/A-18E/F fighters,'' the Russian think-tank said.

However, delays associated with the construction and supply to India of more advanced airplanes may enable China eventually to catch up with India in the quality of hardware.

``By the time the IAF will have a militarily sizeable fleet of the SU-30MKI planes (i.e. by the end of 2003, when Russia will have supplied all 40 SU-30MKI under the 1996 deal), China's Air Forces will begin acquisition of upgraded SU-30MK fighters or will embark on the upgradation of its giant fleet of SU-27s,'' it said.

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