The joke's on the pakis

US gives Pak F-16s, India gets F-16s plus plus

Bush Allows India to access aerospace industry to buy F-16s, F-18s, licences for production; energy cooperation, upgrade of strategic dialogue

C RAJA MOHAN & PRANAB DHAL SAMANTA

NEW DELHI, March 25 Barely hours after an official spokesman said that the Prime Minister expressed ‘‘great disappointment’’ to US President George Bush over his decision to sell F-16 fighter aircraft to Pakistan, there was quiet satisfaction in New Delhi. In a statement issued after midnight, the MEA spokesperson put on record Washington’s wide-ranging offer that not only allows India to buy F-16s and the latest F-18s from US firms but also seeks to ‘‘upgrade’’ the strategic partnership giving it a ‘‘much more global character.’’ In fact, the US announcement this evening signals a significant differentiation that the Bush Administration is making between India on the one hand and its long-standing competitors in the region—Pakistan and China. That Bush was going to reward Gen. Pervez Musharraf with F-16s—a sale blocked for 15 years—for his cooperation in the war on terrorism was long known. What has been on offer to India from the United States, however, has been less clear until recently. In his conversation with Prime Minister Singh today, Bush informed India on the final decision about F-16s to Pakistan and reaffirmed the Rice proposals on strategic cooperation. The Bush package marks a radical departure from the decades-old American policy towards India on defence cooperation and the transfer of advanced technologies. Washington is offering India a wider array of weapons systems and more importantly the option to produce them in India. The Bush Administration has now taken a decision to permit its companies to bid for the Indian Air Force contract on the acquisition of 126 multi-role combat aircraft and give them licences for manufacture and production in India. Sources in the American aerospace industry say once they receive formal communication, they will fully compete in meeting the stringent Indian demands on technology transfer and licensed production. Lockheed Martin that produces the F-16 and the Boeing that makes the F-15 and F-18 are expected to join the bidding for the Indian purchase of the multi-role combat aircraft. This is the first time Washington has offered F-16s to India, a country outside the zone of its non-NATO allies. On missile defence, the classified briefing given to India by a Pentagon team last month was on the PAC 2 Plus system. This takes care of integration with radar systems being developed now by Raytheon. Such a briefing has only been given to Israel outside the NATO. The Bush Administration is also proposing a major change in its non-proliferation policy towards India by offering cooperation in the area of commercial atomic energy generation—including nuclear reactor technology—for the first time in three decades. This comes days after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice—she spoke to External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh in Myanmar today—had revealed a package of proposals aimed at addressing India’s security and energy needs. Having opposed the natural gas pipeline with Iran, the Bush Administration believes it has an obligation to offer alternative options to India. It is in this context that Washington is proposing nuclear energy cooperation. The Bush Administration is expected to shortly take up the possibility of such cooperation with the US Congress that has put in legislative constraints on the transfer of nuclear energy technology. To top it all, the Bush Administration wants a dialogue on global issues with India aimed at increasing New Delhi’s role in international institutions such as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and Group of Eight industrial countries. First, the disappointment, then the quiet satisfaction Washington has agreed to sell F-16s to Pakistan. At the same time, it’s offering India: • Wider array of weapons systems and more importantly the option to produce them in India • Allowed its companies to bid for the IAF contract on the acquisition of 126 multi-role combat aircraft • Lockheed Martin that produces the F-16 and the Boeing that makes the F-15 and F-18 are expected to join the bidding • Proposing a major change in its non-proliferation policy by offering cooperation in the area of commercial atomic energy generation for the first time in three decades • A joint working group on space cooperation