Author: Josy Joseph
Publication: The Times of India
Date: October 14, 2004
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-883884,curpg-1.cms
In its eagerness to arm its favourite
ally in on war on terror, the US is well on its way to triggering an arms
race in South Asia.
As American military assistance
turns into a deluge, Pakistan is more than making up for the years of nuclear
sanction that had stemmed its armoury. There is concern, not just in Delhi
but elsewhere too, that Pakistan's new-generation weaponry could fuel a
fierce arms race in the subcontinent.
Apart from the arms supply, the
US is also dictating some strategic decisions to the Pakistani Army.
According to details available in
the Mission Performance Plan for financial year 2004 of the US embassy
in Islamabad, and updated on the US State Department website, the Americans
persuaded Pakistan government to establish an Interior Air Wing in Quetta
with five American helicopters.
Within months of 9/11, the US re-started
supply of military wares to Pakistan. The initial supplies consisted of
items such as UH-II utility helicopters, VHF/UHF aircraft radios, surveillance
radars, reconnaissance helicopters, night-vision equipment etc. Almost
all of these were meant for operations against the al-Qaeda and Taliban
hiding near the Pak-Afghan border.
But now the arms supply has moved
away from the war on terror.
If the schedule of supply and details
given in the Mission Plan are anything to go by, then the floodgates of
American military-industry have opened. On the pipeline are more than $1.5
billion worth of military supplies over five years. Plus, numerous futuristic
deals.
The arms supply is now in full flow
and icing on the cake is the F-16 fighters that Pakistan Air Force has
been dreaming of for long. The Navy can look forward to a new generation
of torpedoes to maritime aircraft.
But the biggest gainer would be
the Army: a generational upgrade in almost its entire armoury including
top of the line attack helicopters, radars.
Richard Armitage in a recent interview
to a Pakistani TV channel said there are "more helicopters in the queue.
We have gotten now a steady stream of dependable funding to help the Pakistani
armed forces... We realise they need the proper equipment, so we have embarked
on a five- year programme of support."
Armitage was referring to the $1.5
billion military aid that Pakistan is receiving over the next five years.
While Americans justify them in
the name of terrorism, the supply is adding teeth to Pakistan's offensive
capabilities that are almost completely focused on India.
Among the upcoming acquisitions
that would make Indian military planners quite uncomfortable are F-16 fighters,
upgraded P3C Orion long range maritime aircraft that can also be used as
a strategic bomber, Harpoon missiles and a complete new generation of radars
worth over $365 million.
What is increasingly frustrating
to military planners in New Delhi is the fact that despite America's continued
assertion of growing Indo-US defence cooperation, the Pentagon has not
been so keen to give the latest equipment to India.
An expert points out that US is
still trying to push P3B Orion, which is a generation older than P3C, with
Indian Navy. Americans have told Indians that P3B Orions would only have
the old airframe and would be fitted with the latest equipment.
America is presently upgrading Pakistan's
decade-old TPS-43 G air defence radars. They are also presently engaged
in supplying AN/TPS-77 air surveillance radars worth $100 million, and
six aerostat L-88 radars worth $155 million. Incidentally, India is also
in the process of inducting a similar version of Aerostat radars from Israel.
In this scenario, India and Pakistan
are showing unprecedented greed in buying the latest generation military
wares.
It was no coincidence that for the
first time US companies participated in the International Defence Exhibition
and Seminar 2004, Pakistan's international defence exhibition.
They had a sizeable presence at
the highly protected exhibition on September 14-17 in Karachi. In those
cut throat days of millions, American exhibitors and agents vied for space
and money with representatives from countries such as North Korea and Sudan.
The economics of arms trade clearly
takes precedence over the politics of war and peace. Be it nuclear or otherwise.