July 5, 2017
On the eve of Modi's visit, Israel backs India against Pakistan
By Abdus-Sattar Ghazali
On the eve of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "historic" visit to Israel, a senior official from the Israeli foreign ministry said that his country supports India on what he called "terrorism emanating from Pakistan."
Israel believes that there is no difference between Pakistan based "Lashkar-e-Taiba" and the Hamas group operating in Israel and Palestine, said Mark Sofer, deputy director general in charge of the Asia and Pacific division.
"Israel supports India on terrorism emanating out of Pakistan, hook, line and sinker. But we are not asking for a quid pro quo" the horrors coming from Pakistan"the Lashkar-e-Toiba, the rogue operations from Pakistan. We say that India has the right to defend itself, just like Israel has the right to defend itself. I don't see a difference between LeT and Hamas. A terrorist is a terrorist is a terrorist," said Mark Sofer.
India is Israel's top destination for arms exports
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived in Israel Monday on a three day visit, is expected to sign an agreement to purchase more weapons systems during his visit to Israel, Indian media outlets have reported.
According to BBC, for years, Israel and India have been working closely together on defense issues and India has been a regular customer of arms from the Jewish state.
Working to modernize its military to counter China and Pakistan, India is now Israel's biggest arms market, thought to be worth about $1bn per year, according to Reuters news agency.
The co-operation ranges from a jointly built air defense system to India buying drones, radar, cyber security and communication systems.
The Times of India said Israel has always played a strategic role in aiding India during times of conflict -- be it Sino-Indian war, the two wars with Pakistan in 1965 and 1971, or the Kargil conflict.
India is the largest buyer of Israeli arms with 41% of Israeli arms exported to India.
One of the likely deals will include the purchase of 8,000 Spike anti-tank missiles, worth about $500 million, from Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
Last year, the Indian government signed two large deals with the Israel Aerospace Industries, a government-owned company that develops and sells defense and weapons systems.
Indian media reported the signing of the deals in the past few months: One worth almost $2 billion includes the land-based version of the Barak 8 air defense system, as well as the naval version to be installed on the Indian navy's aircraft carrier.
The second deal, worth $630 million, was signed with the Indian state-owned company Bharat Electronic Limited for the installation of the Barak 8 systems on four navy ships. This aerial defense system was developed as a joint project between India and Israel, and the sales are a continuation of the policy of cooperation between the countries.
Complete turning point in India's policy towards Palestine
India and Israel have had diplomatic relations for 25 years. In the past however, the relationship has always been a balancing act given India's sizeable Muslim population and the country's dependence on oil imports from Arab countries and Iran, the BBC said.
Calling Narendra Modi's visit to Israel a "complete turning point", senior Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Prakash Karat on Tuesday said it was a part of an overall Hindutva ideology which was coming into play both domestically and in terms of foreign policy.
Ex-CPI-M General Secretary also added that Modi's visit was also an open declaration that India doesn't stand by the Palestinian cause any more.
"What Modi Government is doing within India, this foreign policy is an extension of that," said Karat at a public meeting organized by Palestine Solidarity Committee, stressing there was a need to oppose this direction of foreign policy as well as the strategic alliance between India and Israel "which betrays Palestinian cause".
Binu Mathew, Editor of Counter Current, points out that Modi is not visiting Ramallah, the headquarters of Palestine Authority, which is a clear message to the Muslims of the world and to Muslims back home in India.
Mathew continues to say: "In Israel Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has found a natural ally and a role model who put their grand vision to fruition. In Modi's embrace of Netanyahu we see the marriage of two evil ideologies, Hindutva and Zionism. Israel with its tried and tested military technologies and tactics to subdue the freedom strugglers of Palestine, will be ever ready to pass on their know how to Modi. Muslims, dalits and other minority groups in India, beware of this deadly embrace."
India-China boarder standoff
Prime Minister Modi's visit to Israel comes at a time when there is a standoff between Indian and Chinese troops along Sikkim-Tibet border sector.
All India Congress party has accused the Modi government of not taking "Chinese incursions" seriously and asked it to take proper steps to counter a possible attack or speedily engage with Beijing through diplomatic channels.
Accusing the Modi's ministers of only delivering speeches, a senior Congress spokesperson Ajay Maken asked how the govt intended to combat repeated "incursions", when it was "downgrading" the threat as "transgressions".
On the one hand, the Prime Minister is on foreign visits and the government itself is not taking the incursions seriously, Maken said.
Tellingly, an article on the People's Liberation Army (PLA) website warned on Tuesday that India's armed forces will not have the upper hand if the military standoff in Sikkim sector triggers an "armed conflict" with China.
The article, written by strategic analyst Wang Dehua, recalled the 1967 conflict in the same region and said Chinese army had launched "2 destructive" counterattacks against Indian armed forces.
"Indian side didn't get the upper hand in the past. And it won't get an advantage today when Chinese military has made remarkable progress on modernization over the past few decades," Wang, head of Institute of South and Central Asia, Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, wrote in the piece titled "Expert: no winner in armed conflicts".
China would be forced to use a "military way" to end the standoff in the Sikkim sector if India "refuses to listen" to it, another Chinese expert warned.
As the standoff at the Doklam area continued for the third week, the longest between 2 countries, the official media and the Chinese think-tanks have said that "war is possible if the conflict between India and China is not handled properly".
"China is trying its best to use historical lessons to reason with India and show sincerity in peacefully solving the problem, but if India refuses to listen, then China would have no other choice than to use a military way of solving the problem," Hu Zhiyong, research fellow at Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.
Abdus Sattar Ghazali, is the Chief Editor of the Journal of America.
The Journal of America Team:
Editor in chief:
Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Senior Editor:
Prof. Arthur Scott
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